Concern raised over mayor's £300k visitor budget, as idea of a 'tourist tax' is discussed

TOURISM A PRIORITY, 'BUT THE FIGURES DO NOT REFLECT THAT'

- By JOSEPH CONNOLLY

JUST £300,000 of the East Midlands mayor's £206 million 2026/27 budget will be allocated to tourism and the visitor economy in the region, draft proposals show.

The financial plan was announced at a board meeting of the East Midlands Combined County Authority on Monday, November 24, giving the public the first indication of where money will be spent across the region in the next financial year.

But the comparatively small culture, arts and tourism pot was questioned by board member Alan Graves, who is the Reform leader of Derbyshire County Council.

He said: “Visitor economy is pretty important and it is down as a priority for this authority but the figures do not reflect that. Hopefully moving forward we put some more focus on that.”

The visitor economy budget falls within the authority's £206m “revenue” budget, which is set from money the authority spends and recoups on a short-term basis.

This is in contrast to the authority's “capital” budget, which is money spent on longer-term projects.