Competition with our nearest market

Cutting Tourism VAT would be the single biggest reform Government could make. The UK applies a 20% VAT rate against an EU average of 9%. France, Spain and Italy apply 10% to visitor accommodation; Germany applies 7%. We are competing for the same customers, from a structurally higher cost base. We are calling for 10%: permanent, legislated, and aligned with competitor destinations.

Why should you support this if you are not a VAT registered hospitality business?

We saw just what a boost cutting the VAT rate did for wider hospitality post Covid, our whole visitor economy from single holiday cottages, to large hotels, small pubs to chain restaurants, all saw a significant increase in bookings and trade. This kind of growth is just what we all need right now, to try and stop the continuing decline in our domestic holiday economy and improve the profitability and sustainability of the wider sector through growth. That growth would also see receipts to the Chancellor grow and increase employment.

The impact reaches well beyond the room rate. Every restaurant meal, every excursion, every attraction admission carries the UK’s 20%, so the total cost of a UK trip looks materially uncompetitive against the package an equivalent Mediterranean or continental destination can offer. In 2024, 94.6 million UK residents took overseas trips, up from 86.2 million.
Domestic tourism, particularly in rural and coastal areas is in decline. VisitBritain’s Great Britain Tourism Survey show that the number of nights people spent on overnight leisure stays reduced by 5% between 2024 and 2025, a fall of around 14 million nights. Since 2022, we have lost a staggering 75 million nights, a fall of 21%.

https://neweconomics.org/2026/02/the-disappearance-of-the-great-british-holiday

What can you do to help?

1/ Sign the petition: www.vatstheproblem.co.uk or click on this barcode (coming soon).

2/ Click on the image of the Poster on the left to download and display. 

3/ Keep abreast of developments by signing up to the free PASC UK Newsletter below, or better still Join PASC UK Here:

Joining PASC UK is easy, a single property is just £90 (plus VAT from 1 January 2025) per annum. Membership gives a range of benefits including email and phone support and numerous sector specific papers on topics ranging from legal papers providing Terms and Conditions, CCTV etc, plus papers dealing with VOA, Business Rates, EV Charging etc as well as access to discounts via the PASC UK Buying Club.

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