This article was first published by The Art Investor.
The director of the Victoria and Albert Museum, Tristram Hunt, has said that overseas visitors to the UK should pay a tourist tax in a bid to bolster cash-strapped national museums.
Hunt cites an upcoming report from the Cultural Policy Unit, a new independent think tank directed by the former editor of The Art Newspaper, Alison Cole, which advocates putting a small percentage-based charge—around 3% to 5%—on overnight stays, a move which could generate more than £1bn to support the UK’s cultural infrastructure. Last year at the UK think tank The Fabian Society, also previously led by Cole, also proposed implementing a “progressive city tourism charge” across the UK to raise extra funding.
The director also discussed the idea of charging an entrance fee to international tourists, but added a “few words of caution”, suggesting for instance that visitor numbers fall with charging, affecting knock-on spending in museum shops and catering. “The Treasury [also] has a nasty habit of lowering public funding as it sees self-generated income growing,” he added.
