Cut Tourism VAT to help coastal regeneration

Dermot King, Cut Tourism VAT Chairman,  today spoke to Ian King from Sky News about how a Tourism VAT reduction could help British coastal destinations invest and compete with those elsewhere in Europe.

While the cheap pound makes a holiday in the UK more attractive to overseas’ tourists Government investment alongside a cut in VAT on tourism would help boost the country’s competitiveness.

“Tourism itself and seaside towns themselves are a big challenge because the fact of the matter is if you come from a seaside town you’re more likely to be unemployed, you’re more likely to have a poor education and you’re more likely to be on lower-level social housing.”

While tourism is the fourth-biggest employer in the country already – it is also the sixth-biggest exporter.

“The fact of the matter is we’re three-times more expensive than Germany and twice as expensive as France when it comes to VAT,” Mr King said.

READ: BHA Report: Creating Coastal Powerhouses 

WATCH: video of the interview here here