FSB Fighting For Small Tourism Businesses

The FSB has published a new policy leaflet giving details of policies aimed at boosting tourism and encouraging local councils to support tourism businesses.

Download Tour de Force here.

With 350 miles of coastline and many heitage sites tourism plays an important role in the Essex economy.

Key Essex Facts

• For 2008 the total tourism value was £2,573,451,000.
• Duing 2008 50,172 people were employed in the Essex tourism industry.
• There are 78 self catering accommodation sites which equals 1,004 rooms and 3,075 bed spaces

Key National Facts

• The domestic tourism industry was worth £21.1bn to the UK economy in 2008 (UK Tourism Survey)
• It is estimated that 60,000 businesses in the self-catering sector will be affected by the FHL changes (UK Treasury)
• The UK self-catering industry accounts for 7.6% of all holiday visits, 12.4% of all nights and 12.9% of all tourism revenue (UK Tourism Alliance)

Furnished Holiday Lettings Rules

The Chancellor has announced that from April 2010, the Furnished Holiday Lettings (FHL) rules will be repealed.

The changes mean that self-catering accommodation businesses will face a greater tax liability which could severely affect their financial viability.

The FHL rules currently allow owners of self-catering cottages in the UK, who meet certain criteria, to be treated as trading businesses for tax purposes.

These changes were announced without any prior consultation and with no involvement from representatives from tourism industry.

Major Costs

The Treasury estimates that the changes to the FHL rules will damage the tourism industry by just £20m, yet research done by the Tourism Alliance suggests an overall reduction in tourism spend of £200m and a loss of 4,500 jobs in rural and seaside economies.

FSB Policy

The FSB is calling for the Treasury to undertake a review of the proposed changes to evaluate the economic impact of the repeal of the FHL rules so that the true consequences can be understood.

The FSB believes measures must be put in place to mitigate against the damaging effects the changes to the FHL rules will have on the UK's economy and tourism industry.

Download Furnished Holiday Lettings Rules Briefing here

More information on tourism in Essex can be found at Visit Essex.

Got a view?

If you have a comment, suggestion or idea on this topic please send your views to Essex FSB Development Manager, Keith Brown.

Latest News

For the latest news on the campaign go to Essex News and insert "Tourism" in the search engine.