NCTA September Udate

"As we kick into autumn and reflect on summer bookings across the coast, it can be easy to feel the vagaries of the British weather and economic climate create formidable barriers. Indeed, our own latest business survey indicates that for nearly half of businesses turnover was lower this summer than in 2022.

So sometimes it helps to look at the big picture. A new survey last month from Three Business, part of the telecommunications giant, shows coastal SMEs contribute £3.15bn to the UK economy and support 296,000 jobs and 10,900 SMEs nationwide. Furthermore, of the businesses surveyed, nearly three quarters said their area had become more popular with visitors since the pandemic.

Within government, the consultation on a registration scheme for short term lets in England has now closed. Sir John Whittingdale, Minister of State at DCMS, announced at the Tourism Alliance Policy Conference this month that an announcement following the consultation is due out shortly.

At the same conference, a debate was held on Tourism Tax, a tax already implemented in Manchester and being considered in other areas. The Tourism Alliance has produced a useful report, Taxing Tourists: The UK vs Competitor Destinations, looking into the actual rates of taxation levied on tourists in the UK and in various destinations around the world, read more here.

With Hallowe’en, Bonfire Night and harvest festivals galore, there’s every reason to encourage visitors to embrace the autumn colours and crisp sea air and, thankfully, they’ll arrive with lower expectations of the British weather! Don’t miss the opportunity to have your autumn events featured in the Year of the Coast calendar, contact your local DMO. And if you’d like to have your business promoted, we offer monthly competitions in our consumer England’s Coast newsletter, with more than 9.5k readers. Simply get in touch and we’ll provide you with the details.

Best wishes,

Samantha Richardson MBE"

Read the full update here