North East mayor Kim McGuinness has backed proposed powers to introduce an overnight visitor levy, while Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen has said he will not use them.

The government confirmed on 10 September that English mayors and strategic authority leaders will be able to impose a percentage-based charge on paid accommodation.

The proposed power is intended to raise money for local growth, including high streets, public transport, events, public spaces and visitor attractions.

It cannot be used until the government has introduced the necessary legislation and the relevant local authority has completed its own consultation.

The charge would be calculated as a percentage of the accommodation cost rather than as a flat fee. The government says that would mean people staying in cheaper accommodation pay less than they would under a fixed charge.

Accommodation providers would be legally responsible for collecting and paying the levy, although they could pass some or all of the cost on to visitors.

The levy would apply across the whole of a strategic authority area if introduced. The government has ruled out allowing mayors to apply it only in selected towns or visitor hotspots. It has also decided against varying the rate by season, accommodation type or constituent council area.

McGuinness has argued that the revenue could support the North East's visitor economy. In a statement published by the North East Combined Authority on 26 November 2025, she said: “Even a small amount levied on each overnight stay will transform the welcome we can give to people coming to North East England from all over the globe.”

She has also said the money could support regional events and festivals, visitor attractions and the wider visitor economy. The government's framework allows levy revenue to be used for interventions linked to a strategic authority's regional growth strategy, so the final spending plan could extend beyond tourism alone.

Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen has taken the opposite position. Sky News reported that he wrote on X in November 2025: “There will be no tourist tax in Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool for as long as I’m mayor. Thanks, but no thanks.”

The two positions apply to separate mayoral areas. The North East Mayoral Strategic Authority covers Northumberland, Tyne and Wear and County Durham, while Tees Valley Combined Authority covers Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland and Stockton-on-Tees.

No rate or start date has been announced for the North East. A draft North East cultural strategy referred to a potential future visitor levy to help fund events, attractions and cultural activity, subject to further development and consultation.

The authority's latest published scrutiny timetable also said further work on the levy would follow once the government had settled the legislative framework.

The government has not set a national maximum rate and expects strategic authorities to publish spending plans by early 2028.

The next formal step is the introduction of the legislation, followed by the local decisions and consultation needed before either North East mayoral authority could introduce a levy.