Tourism is a vital industry for Blackpool, but it does come with its costs. Providing a safe and enjoyable environment for tourists requires staff and resources, and these expenses are currently borne by Blackpool council taxpayers. These costs include things like beach patrols, street cleansing and litter management, Wireless Blackpool, the Illuminations, advertising, Fireworks, and the Winter Gardens, all of which are supported by council tax.

One solution to this issue is to introduce an Overnight Visitor Charge (OVC) on overnight stays in Blackpool. Studies have shown that this charge could raise upwards of £6 million pounds per year by introducing a flat fee of between £1 and £2 per night. Such a fee is already common in many international destinations, and is generally lower than what other cities charge. For example, Barcelona charges €4 per night, and Orlando charges 6% of the room rate.

A fee of £1 a night, as adopted by Manchester, would cost only 25p per person per night for a family of four staying overnight. On a week-long holiday, this would only amount to an additional £7, or approximately the price of two pints of beer. Introducing the OVC would benefit both tourists and council taxpayers. The charge would be ring-fenced to cover the areas of council expenditure for services used by tourists. In the event that the charge produces a surplus, the funds could be used to develop new events or facilities for our visitors.

For Blackpool’s residents, there would be no costs associated with setting up the OVC, as initial startup costs will be paid back out of the OVC. The charge would cover services that are currently paid for out of council tax, freeing up money that could be allocated to other budgets such as youth services, social services, and road maintenance.

In summary, introducing an Overnight Visitor Charge would be a fair and reasonable solution to the costs of tourism in Blackpool. It would enable the town to continue to provide excellent services for tourists, while also freeing up funds to invest in other essential services for its residents. For more information on this topic, I recommend reading this article from the Centre for Cities  https://www.centreforcities.org/blog/what-could-a-tourism-tax-do-for-city-budgets/