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The largest holiday park operator in the North of England has warned that pressing ahead with proposals to introduce a new ‘holiday tax’ could cripple the UK’s tourism industry and exacerbate the problem of second home ownership in rural areas.
South Lakeland Parks who operate nine holiday parks throughout the Lake District and Lancashire believe that Government plans to impose VAT at 20 per cent on the sale of holiday homes could lead to people turning their backs on UK holidays in favour of seemingly more affordable alternatives overseas.
Nigel Wimpenny, Managing Director at South Lakeland Parks, said: "Much has been made in the media of the ‘pasty taxes’ and ‘granny taxes’ but yet again it seems the caravan and holiday park industry has been overlooked as a poor relative."
Despite generating £4 billion to the UK economy each year and attracting 19.5 million visitors, the importance of the caravan and holiday park sector is often underestimated.
The introduction of a hefty 20 per cent holiday tax will lead to less people buying holiday homes, more empty pitches on parks and substantially less accommodation choice for holidaymakers.
Nigel continued: "At a time when we should be doing all we can to encourage more people to holiday at home and buy British, the reality is quite the opposite. Even on our most affordable brand new caravan, a 20 per cent price hike adds an extra £4,000 to the cost of purchase, which is substantial enough to make people reconsider buying a UK holiday home in favour of simply taking a few more European holidays.
"This will not only impact on the tourism spend in areas like the Lake District, it will bring the British manufacturers of holiday homes to their knees. As holiday parks see a drop in demand from consumers, they will inevitably buy less from the manufacturers. Both of which will lead to job losses in the industry and in those businesses that are indirectly supported by tourism spend such as local cafes, pubs and restaurants, visitor attractions and shops."
Further research from the organisation that represents the interests of UK holiday parks, the British Homes & Holiday Parks Association (BH&HPA) has shown that 53,000 UK jobs are supported by the industry, with many often in rural areas where employment is harder to come by.
On parks alone, it is estimated that one job will be lost for every 15 holiday park pitches left vacant as a result of this new holiday tax with a knock-on effect on many more indirect jobs. With a 30 per cent drop in demand for holiday homes forecasted, the impact will be far-reaching.
Another area that Nigel feels strongly about that is already an issue in rural areas like the Lake District is the demand for local, affordable housing.
He says: "We are proud of the fact that our parks help to alleviate the problem of affordable housing for locals as people choosing to buy a lodge or a caravan as a second holiday home are freeing up more standard properties for young people looking to buy their first home in the area where they work. However, adding 20 per cent to the cost of a lodge or caravan will make bricks and mortar properties seem more attractive to people looking to buy a second home, which will start to price local people out of the housing market."
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
