THE BHA’S VIEW ON VAT
Deckchairs and donkeys, hiking and heritage, feasts and festivals, rollercoasters and rock
music – whatever your idea of a fantastic holiday in the UK, it ought to be available at a fair
price. This is why the British Hospitality Association is at the forefront of a campaign to
champion a cut in VAT on tourism to 5% so visitor accommodation and attractions aren’t
priced out of the market by their European competitors.
The BHA believes that families get an unfair deal when holidaying at home, with VAT rates
on hotels and attractions much higher than in nearly every country in Europe. Hotels in
France and Germany are at 7% VAT, Ireland 9% with Spain and Italy at 10%. Half of EU
nations also have reduced rates for visitor accommodation. Small wonder that British
holidays struggle to compete.
The BHA’s Cut Tourism VAT campaign aims to engage the government at policy level and to
win public support. Along with BALPPA, our members Borne Leisure, Merlin Entertainments
and experts from Tourism Respect, we have provided the leadership to a powerful alliance
of over 500 supporting organisations and companies to make the case to Government.
KEY FACTS AND FIGURES

The UK has improved its overall world travel and tourism ranking and moved from
11th position in 2009 to 5th in 2013

The high VAT rates that visitors pay for accommodation, meals and attractions
compared to other European destinations increases holiday costs by an average of
£140 per person. Combined with Visas and Airport duty, these costs make a stay in
the UK £1200 more expensive than the same stay in other European destinations

These high costs provide an indication as to why the UK’s share of important
emerging markets such as India and China has decreased by more than 50% since
2000

As a holiday destination, Britain is perceived as too expensive for many international
travellers and businesses looking to travel to the UK – it is at the very bottom of the
price competitiveness ranking at 138 out of 140 countries according to the World
Economic Forum

Thousands of new jobs could be created in and around the regions if the government
created a level playing field with the rest of Europe by cutting VAT on tourism.
That’s the message from the tourism industry, led by Cut Tourism VAT, which is
calling on regional communities across the UK to back a campaign to cuts tourism
VAT from 20% to 5%.

The UK is also one of only 14 EU countries that apply the full rate of VAT on
admissions to amusement parks and one of only nine countries that applies the full
rate on admissions to cultural attractions. Thirteen countries have a reduced VAT
rate for restaurant meals

The Campaign is led by the British Hospitality Association, British Association of
Leisure Parks, Piers and Attractions, Bourne Leisure Group and Merlin
Entertainments Group

The Campaign for Reduced Tourism VAT is supported by over 500 groups,
associations, businesses, individual hotels, restaurants and attractions around the
United Kingdom. A full list of members and supporters can be found at the website
http://www.cuttourismvat.co.uk

The Campaign seeks a level playing field with the UK’s tourism competitors in the
EU which apply VAT at reduced rates – for example 7 per cent in Germany and
France, compared to 20 per cent in the UK. Tourism is one of only a limited number
of goods and services for which the EU allows member states to apply a reduced rate
and nearly every country exercises this option because this makes their tourism
industry more competitive, thus creating jobs and growth