- Ryanair warns hotel tax would double tax tourists
- Michael O’Leary criticises overnight visitor levies
- Air Passenger Duty currently £15 for short-haul economy
- Ryanair threatens to shift capacity to lower-tax destinations
- Industry warns of up to £1.6bn in lost economic activity
Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary has warned that the government’s plan to allow local mayors to implement overnight hotel taxes would double tax tourists who already pay Air Passenger Duty on their flights into the country. Speaking at a press conference in London O’Leary stated that while he does not fundamentally oppose regional hotel levies combining them with APD damages the country’s tourism competitiveness. He cautioned that if these proposals go ahead Ryanair will review its flight capacity and potentially shift aircraft to zero-tax or lower-cost European destinations.
The row centres on the Labour government’s proposals to grant English regional mayors the power to impose uncapped overnight visitor levies on accommodation like hotels bed and breakfasts and holiday lets. O’Leary argued that the government should abolish APD if it plans to tax hotel stays noting that short-haul economy passengers currently face a £15 entry and departure tax under APD rules.
The aviation and hospitality sectors have expressed severe concerns over how these cumulative costs will influence travel decisions. Despite announcing its largest-ever winter schedule Ryanair explicitly threatened to pivot future expansion toward countries like Spain Italy and Sweden where point-of-entry visitor taxes do not apply. Industry chiefs separate from airlines have also warned that an uncapped tourist levy could cost the hospitality and tourism sector up to £1.6bn (€1.84bn) in lost economic activity. A government spokesperson defended the move as a historic devolution of power pointing out that every other G7 country already features a similar visitor levy.
Michael O’Leary, Ryanair Group CEO, shared: “You can’t tax tourists on the way into England and then double tax them for the hotel night. If you want to have a hotel tax, by all means, but use it as the vehicle for abolishing APD.”
