News
Manchester becomes first UK city to impose ‘tourist tax’
The charge aims to help boost the tourist economy as the city recovers from the coronavirus pandemic
Manchester has become the first UK city to impose a ‘tourist tax’ for visitors — with officials hoping the money will raise £3m a year.
Branded the City Visitor Charge, this new tax will mean people see an extra £1 per room, per night, added to their accommodation costs. The money is to be used to help to run large events, conferences, festivals, marketing campaigns and for the upkeep of street cleanliness.
Manchester City Council Chief Executive Joanne Roney said the ‘innovative initiative’ would raise £3m a year to ‘enhance’ visitors’ experience.
It would create ‘new events and activities for them to enjoy’, she said, adding that the money would be ‘invested directly into these activities, supporting Manchester’s accommodation sector to protect and create jobs and benefiting the city’s economy as a whole’.
As reported by The BBC, the fee aims to help boost the tourist economy as the city recovers from the coronavirus pandemic, comes after accommodation providers voted to set up the Manchester Accommodation Business Improvement District (ABID).
It aims to ‘improve the visitor experience’ and ‘support future growth of the visitor economy’ over the next five years. Some 73 hotels and serviced apartments signed up to the levy scheme which has been introduced ahead of a planned expansion of the hotel and holiday let sector in the city.
Annie Brown from Manchester ABID said the move would help create ‘a more sustainable and thriving sector, helping to bring visitors from around the world to experience the best of what Manchester and Salford have to offer’.
She said the accommodation sector in and around Manchester was ‘growing rapidly, with almost 6,000 new bedrooms to be created over the next few years’.
“The goal of the Manchester Accommodation BID is simple – we need to increase overnight stays in line with that growth so that hotels and serviced apartments in the city can continue to thrive,” she said.
UK Hospitality Chief Executive Kate Nicholls warned that it was ‘essential funds are ring-fenced for spend within the sector and not funding matters covered by general taxation’.
She said hospitality businesses already paid a high level of tax, funding vital public services and tourism and while accommodation Business Improvement Districts ‘can have a role to fund local marketing and promotional activities’ there must be ‘comprehensive local support and significant engagement with the business community before it is implemented’.
Adding: “UK Hospitality has been consistent that levies that are punitive, deter visitors or are incorrectly targeted are ineffective and should be avoided at all costs.”
We’re pleased to announce that Proper Manchester is rebranding as Finest City Guides.
As part of this change, the Proper Manchester brand, including its social media channels, will transition to the Finest City Guides name.
This is a rebrand of the existing platform rather than a new or unrelated business. The same team behind Proper Manchester will continue to operate Finest City Guides as we develop the platform under its new identity.
Previous name: Proper Manchester
New name: Finest City Guides
Our social channels and other brand assets will be updated to reflect the Finest City Guides name as part of this transition.
More from Finest City Guides coming soon.
News
Oasis announce huge reunion tour as Liam and Noel Gallagher ‘make peace’
The news we’ve all been waiting for!
After years of will-they-won’t-they speculation, Oasis are officially BACK together for a reunion tour.
The Gallagher brothers have put aside their differences in the name of music, making thousands of fans extremely happy in the process.
The band teased the news on their socials over the weekend, posting a video on Sunday morning with today’s date (Tuesday, August 27th) and the time 8am.
And now shows have been announced for multiple dates in the UK and Ireland, with tickets going live this Saturday, August 31st.
The legendary Mancunian rockers will take to the stage next summer, with gigs in Cardiff, London, Edinburgh, Dublin and, of course, Manchester.
15 years after splitting, the band confirmed they would be back for 14 shows, saying: “The guns have fallen silent. The stars have aligned. The great wait is over. Come see. It will not be televised”.
The gigs will be Oasis’s ‘only shows in Europe next year’, with tickets on sale this Saturday at 8am in Ireland and 9am in the UK.
The Oasis 2025 tour dates in full:
July
4th – Cardiff, Principality Stadium
5th – Cardiff, Principality Stadium
11th – Manchester, Heaton Park
12th – Manchester, Heaton Park
19th – Manchester, Heaton Park
20th – Manchester, Heaton Park
25th – London, Wembley Stadium
26th – London, Wembley Stadium
August
2nd – London, Wembley Stadium
3rd – London, Wembley Stadium
8th – Edinburgh, Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium
9th – Edinburgh, Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium
16th – Dublin, Croke Park
17th – Dublin, Croke Park
You can grab your tickets HERE.
News
Stagecoach hiring over 100 new bus drivers for Bee Network with £31k salaries
Fancy a career change?
Stagecoach Manchester is hiring over 100 new bus drivers to work from its Oldham depot, following the second phase of the Bee Network launch in March.
You can apply for a range of roles, from positions with no experience required to fully qualified bus drivers.
Successful applicants will receive full training as part of the job, and trainees will get paid to train. Then after only 12 months’ service at Stagecoach, drivers can expect to earn up to £16 per hour, which equates to £31.6K per year, before overtime.
As well as that, drivers that already hold a PCV licence may be eligible to receive a £1,200 joining bonus.
Stagecoach
There’s also a host of other benefits available to all Stagecoach employees, like 28 days paid holiday, generous pension and free Stagecoach bus travel for successful applicants and a companion.
Rob Jones, Managing Director at Stagecoach Manchester said: “Expanding our offering in Oldham means we’ll be investing more in the economy and supporting our local community, as well as strengthening our workforce.
“Whether you’re looking for a career change or you’re a fully qualified, experienced bus driver, there’s a role for everyone here in Oldham.
“We’re looking for personable and dedicated drivers who are ready to help us build on the success of the Bee Network and connect the people of Oldham and Greater Manchester with the places and people that are important to them.”
Stagecoach
Phil Cornwall, bus driver at Stagecoach Manchester, said: “I’ve been a driver at Stagecoach for 25 years and I couldn’t recommend it more.
“From the perks to the people to the passengers, it really is a great place to work.”
To apply, head to the Stagecoach website HERE.
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