The kindness of the Jamaica Inn in Cornwall, uninformative tourism debates in parliament, exercise bikes on planes and the loss of thousands of lilos capture some of Adrian’s attention this week.
Yorkshire is a small town north of London. That is one of many things that Adrian learnt this week The phrase was used on a TV show so it must be right!
Councillors in Edinburgh last January decided that they would look again at introducing an accommodation tax. Four months later and those plans have still not materialised. Why?
Greece is copying other destinations around the world by introducing a tourist tax (known as the Stayover Tax) as from the beginning of 2018.
On April Fools’ Day, the Catalan regional government hiked accommodation taxes. Badly handled, do you think they have been taking lessons from the PR people at United Airlines?
With all the recent talk of a tourism levy wanted by the council in Edinburgh and the more than doubling of accommodation taxes in Rome, the other side of the coin is coming into the spotlight as well.
The threats to our wallets whilst holidaying or travelling come in many forms including pickpockets and fraudsters. These are mostly small time but government pickpocketing is the largest threat and the one we can do nothing about.
It is festival time in Edinburgh. According to the Scottish culture minister, Fiona Hyslop, the Edinburgh festivals (there are 12 throughout the year) attract 4 million visitors each year and hundreds of millions of pounds. So why does Edinburgh council want a tourism levy?
Dubai is introducing a tax on all hotel accommodation in Dubai. The new tax will apply as from 31st March 2014. Even bookings made before this date but which apply to stays after this date will be liable for the tax.
Two weeks ago, we reported that both Florence and Venice were introducing taxes per night and per star rating on accommodation. With under a week to go before they come into force is the any news how it will work? Or any news at all?
The short answer is no.
Like London buses, when one comes along, it is accompanied by another. So Venice, on Wednesday this week, decided to introduce an accommodation tax just like Florence.
Following Rome’s introduction of an accommodation tax, Florence has decided to do the same. The difference is that Rome gave people a bit of notice. Florence has given just a month. From July 1st all visitors (except children under 10) staying overnight will have to pay €1 per night. But it gets worse. You also pay a euro for each star category of accommodation you stay at so a 5 star hotel will attract €5 per night per person.
