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Hoteliers appeal Bournemouth tourist tax vote
An appeal against the introduction of a tourist tax in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole is now being considered by the Secretary of State.
The levy was voted in by the narrowest of margins of just one vote earlier in May.
Dozens of hotels in the area are opposing the Bournemouth tourist tax.
With only 75 hotels in the area involved in the vote, a clear 56% majority of the hotels have joined together in a bid to get the ballot result declared void.
They have collectively lodged the appeal.
The hotels comprise a number of the leading hotel chains in the UK and independent hotels.
A spokesperson for the group leading the appeal said; “Following the single vote result, it quickly became clear that a significant number of hotels had not been able to vote and some of these were not even aware that the ballot was taking place.”
“If any one of these hotels had they been able to vote, the levy simply wouldn’t have been voted in.”
“A significant number of mistakes appear to have been made.”
“It has become abundantly clear that there isn’t widespread support for this initiative amongst our hotel community.”
The group says a number of hotels contacted the council after the ballot highlighting issues with the process.
They asked that the council exercise their veto power to declare it void but this was denied.
Members from the group leading the appeal met with the council last week to ask for the proposed start date of 1 July to be delayed until after the appeal process is completed.
The ABID team insisted the levy will apply from 1 July regardless.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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