Tourism is Struggling Enough Already

A hotelier in Douglas is asking the government to have a bit of ‘realism’ with the current hospitality climate.

Lucy George, Front of House and Marketing Manager at the Welbeck Hotel told Manx.News her concerns and worries with the idea of a tourist tax.

The Welbeck Hotel has been owned and operated by the George family since 1978.

Like many in the hospitality sector, the nearly 50-year-old business is uncertain of what its future looks like if the climate doesn’t improve.

Impact

Lucy told Manx.News that she’d like to see the government have a bit of realism and look at tourism realistically.

She said: “We have a fantastic transport system that is not being used and we get big cruise passengers, but, you know, they come in and they go again and they’ve not spent much money in kind of hotels and accommodation.

“It’s frustrating when they kind of come out with things and don’t really think of the impact to the businesses they’re talking about.”

Tourism Tax

When asked about the idea of a Tourism Tax, Lucy told Manx.News “we’re struggling to get tourism as it is really”.

“I just thought, you know, it’s going to be a PR disaster for our current guests. We lost a two week booking because they couldn’t get here. So add another tax on top of that.

“Why, you know, why would they bother [coming here] when they could just go somewhere else, they could drive somewhere else in the UK or in Ireland.

She also queried that if the tax was implemented where the money would go.

Lucy said that if the money was ring fenced just for tourism, and it was for the upkeep of the footpaths and the horse trams, that could be benefit to the island’s appeal.

Who is Who?

However, she echoed concerns raised by MHK Julie Edge as to how government would define a tourist and what visitors are getting for those funds.

Speaking on decisions made by Tynwald, she said: “It’s all these very instant decisions that are really affecting us, and they’re not really putting a lot of thought into how it’s going to affect businesses, not just not just hospitality, but retail.

“A lot, a lot of the places on the island are suffering.”