Visual arts could be supported through tourist tax expected to be introduced across English cities
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Plans to give English cities the power to introduce a tourist levy on overnight stays have moved a step closer, after the Chancellor announced the intention to hand mayors and local leaders new taxing powers in upcoming legislation.
The measure, which would add a small nightly charge to hotel and short-term rental bills, is being promoted as a way to boost local revenues in line with practice in many other G7 and European cities.
What this means for the visual arts
The proposal closely mirrors a key recommendation of APPG for Visual Arts & Artists endorsed report Framing the Future: The Political Case for Strengthening the Visual Arts Ecosystem, which calls for empowering regions to introduce a tourist or hotel levy to support cultural infrastructure and the visual arts.
The report argues that a well-designed levy, hypothecated for culture, could unlock significant new investment in galleries, studios and artist-led spaces, with arts policy experts suggesting a hotel levy across England could raise more than £1.2bn for cultural infrastructure. The recommendations was based on The Cultural Policy Unit's influential report A City Tourism Charge: The Case for a Progressive Levy on Overnight Visitor Accommodation published in March 2025.
As Secretariat for the APPG Visual Arts & Artists, DACS, CVAN and a-n, The Artists Information Company are asking MPs and Peers to press for clarity on how any new levy would work in practice – including who will be legally responsible for collecting it, how and by whom the money will be administered, and whether funds will be ring-fenced for culture and the visual arts rather than disappearing into general budgets.
