Bank holiday reshuffle could be on the cards

Lee Trewhela hears how tourism minister Sir Chris Bryant is planning to assist the UK's hard-pressed tourism sector

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THE Government's tourism minister is considering moving one of the UK’s bank holidays in a bid to help families enjoy less expensive breaks out of school term time.

Sir Chris Bryant said he was toying with the idea, during a visit to Cornwall to champion British tourism and encourage careers in hospitality and the holiday sector.

CornwallLive spoke to Sir Chris at Mylor Sailing School, near Falmouth, on Wednesday, when he was taking part in some “work experience” with businesses in the tourism industry. The purpose was to show people that the visitor economy offers varied and interesting jobs across the country and, despite what he says are some common misconceptions, that it can provide stable careers and a good income.

The minister also talked about the Government's existing and upcoming plans for the tourism industry, including the Visitor Economy Growth Strategy, which will be launched in the autumn and sets out plans to grow the sector even further in places like Cornwall which are reliant on tourism.

On a beautiful sunny day overlooking the Carrick Roads waterway, I asked Sir Chris what the prospects were for the introduction of a tourism tax in Cornwall. Many European cities charge tourists a tax on the cost of hotel rooms and private rentals, either as a flat rate or percentage of the room charge. Visitors to Edinburgh and Glasgow will pay 5% on hotel stays from July next year and January 2027, respectively.

“We haven’t got any plans to allow Cornwall to introduce a tourism tax,” he said. “I hear it both ways. Hoteliers say to me: ‘We're already highly taxed, we don't want to pay more taxes.’ Then I hear people say: ‘We need more investment in local visitor economy.’

“How do the two match? That's our job, to manage that balance. One thing we can definitely do and will do is resolve this issue around short-term lets, because it’s an unfair arrangement at the moment.