The Cornwall Chamber of Commerce brought accommodation providers, attractions, brewers, accountants and Cornwall Council together at its Overnight Visitor Levy Summit on Friday 11th September. The key topic of conversation was: no decision without independent evidence of the economic impact.
Businesses from across Cornwall’s visitor economy and its supply chain, together with councillors, gathered at the Atlantic Hotel in Newquay last Friday for the Cornwall Chamber of Commerce Overnight Visitor Levy Summit, held the day after government confirmed that strategic authorities in England will be able to introduce an overnight visitor levy (widely referred to as a Tourist Tax) charged as a percentage of the accommodation bill.
The Cornwall Chamber convened the Summit as a neutral facilitator, without taking a position for or against a levy. The key consideration is that any decision is taken on independent evidence, and that evidence covers the whole Cornish economy rather than accommodation alone.
Speakers included Aaron Pascoe of the Cornwall Hotel Collection, Alistair Handyside of PASC UK and the South West Tourism Alliance, Patrick Langmaid of Mother Ivey’s Bay Holiday Park and HARPA, Tom Roach of PKF Francis Clark, Cllr Sarah Preece, Cabinet Member for Tourism at Cornwall Council, Dan James of the Eden Project and Laura Plum of St Austell Brewery, with panel contributions from Watergate Bay, the Headland Hotel and the St Moritz Hotel.
Slides from the Summit are available here:
