Northumberland Tories vow to 'block' mayor's tourism tax plans
The Conservative administration at Northumberland County Council has put itself on a collision course with the North East Mayor over plans to introduce a tourist tax across the region.
Kim McGuinness is among the regional mayors who will be allowed to charge a new levy on overnight stays following an announcement from Government.
The Mayor has long advocated for such a levy, and believes it could bring in around £20 million a year from a charge of £2 per night on tourists staying in the North East. The money would be used to invest in improvements to the North East’s cultural attractions and staging more major events.
However, the idea has already come under fire from hospitality sector leaders. Now, deputy leader of Northumberland County Council Richard Wearmouth has said the Tory-led council will strongly oppose any tax on visitors.
He said: “Labour’s solution to everything is yet more tax, they never learn. Tourism based businesses such as hotels are already paying 20% VAT, many have been hit with huge additional National Insurance costs and business rate rises as a result of this government’s political choices.
“This is not a tax that will be paid by tourists. It will most likely come off the bottom line of hard pressed businesses, but the mayor and government don’t seem to understand or care.
“Northumberland Conservatives do not support this proposal and will do what we can to block it. If it is forced on us then we will expect all money raised from Northumberland businesses to stay in Northumberland. We will not tolerate it being frittered away on large events that do nothing for our county.”
Northumberland is one of the North East’s biggest attractions for tourists. In 2025, the visitor economy hit a record breaking £1.58 billion, with more than 11 million visitors recorded – a record number that surpassed pre-pandemic levels for the first time.
The Mayor has said she feels a levy could help bring “major international events” to the North East and improve visitor attractions.
She added: “Most importantly, the money raised here would stay here, helping us invest in the future of our region rather than waiting for Whitehall to do it for us.”
Northumberland Labour leader Scott Dickinson said: “For me, these so called tourism taxes are in place in many countries around the world and in many parts of the UK.
“It’s really important that tourism subsidises local infrastructure and local people’s needs all year round. In Amble, which is a hotspot for tourism, local people can’t even get parked or access a whole range of things in town.
“A tourism tax or a contribution from tourists to the local area could help. Amble welcomes tourism, it creates lots of jobs, but local people live there all year round.
“The mayor can carefully consider how it is redistributed if she brings it in. We’re talking about a small amount of money from people already willing to pay to stay in Northumberland.
“Council residents shouldn’t have to subsidise tourism. This is a sustainable and sensible approach – let everybody pay a small amount and support local people.”