by The pressure on Thursday that the government made Sir Sadiq Khan possible to raise a tourist tax overnight to London, as a leading think tank claimed that it could help revive art and culture in the capital.
In a new report, the Center for London warns that the city’s creative industry is in danger, since the entire local authorities expenditure for art and culture per capita has dropped by 50 percent between 2010 and 2021.
The Think Tank asked the ministers to re-request the funding of art for the local government in 2010 and to introduce a national art pass for U-25 years, and asked the government to “enable Greater London Authority (GLA) to implement a tourist tax to invest in the arts and the cultural scene in London”.
After Sir Sadiq has expressed his support for a tourist tax on the mayor’s questions last month, since he said that most tourists in Europe “do not make anything to pay for a few euros”, which is usually added to the hotel calculations in cities such as Paris, Berlin and Amsterdam.
The government said in response to the mayor’s comments: “There are currently no plans to introduce a tourism tax in England. The places can already choose to submit a levy on night stays through the model improvement model for the business improvement district of the accommodation.”
The new report by Center for London, Arts for All, was launched on Thursday at a panel discussion in the Barbican Arts Center.
Shonagh Manson, the deputy director of GLA’s cultural and creative industry, told the event: “This is currently a really important conversation, and something that our team has been researched in the past seven years, if not longer, has been researched and in a way.
“This is the idea that visitors to a city basically pay a small percentage or an additional amount of your hotel bill and that creates a pot of money, which is then reinvested.
“This happens internationally in different cities.
“Just to become technical, they would need national laws in England so that the GLA cannot do it itself.
“The mayor has as part of the [new] Devolutions settlement, but I think it is our job -together -to devote yourself to go into culture. This is not a matter of course. “
In his comments last month, the mayor said that his “promise” to the capital’s hospitality industry would be that “the money would be used … to encourage more tourists” to London.
Rob Anderson, the Center for London Research Director, said: “London’s art and culture is the core of what it means to be a Londoner. It is of central importance why many people decide to live in the capital.
“And yet not all Londoners can enjoy the art and cultural offer of our city. We have to break down the barriers that hold Londoner from all age groups, areas of life and socio-economic background davon to use our amazing art and culture scene.
“We have had great work in recent years to expand the commitment of our art institutions. However, the funding cuts have made it more difficult for the London art sector to offer the kind of affordable, local and comfortable offers that want to expand Londoner. We have to invest participation again.
The Department of Culture, Media and Sport was addressed to comment on the report of the Center for London.
