There’s been a flurry of interest in the idea of taxing tourists this week, as a high profile agreement for just such a levy to be imposed up in Edinburgh has seen the issue raised enthusiastically elsewhere.

As ever, something seemingly as easy as sticking a few quid on hotel and Airbnb bills quickly gets far, far more complicated, as various interests rub up against each other, while everyone looks to grab a piece of any potential new pie.

From cash-strapped councils desperate to find a new source of revenue to overwhelmed visitor hotspots attempting to offset the impact of the hordes, there are plenty of motivations behind the growing number of such taxes worldwide.

But what about here, in (cash-strapped and overwhelmed) Camden?

Take a stroll - if you dare - up Camden High Street of a weekend and you’ll quickly appreciate why the people of Venice, Barcelona and Amsterdam have attempted to manage their popularity among the selfie-stick wielding masses through the instrument of taxation. (Apologies for the rather unfair photomontage above - it was the best I could to to demonstrate the vibes of said High Street in a hurry).

Sadiq Khan has mooted a London-wide tourist tax, but don’t hold your breath on him realistically getting that through the system any time soon. And Camden Council actually debated the localised version quite extensively in 2015, but here we are unchanged, a decade on…

Inevitably, identifying the jurisdiction for a Camden Tourist Tax would be problematic, as a high proportion of the people flooding the vicinity are staying elsewhere in the city.

A toll gate at the tube is probably not the ideal solution, either.

But a theoretical levy of sorts still remains attractive, especially if the proceeds could be ringfenced for pumping into supporting culture. Our cherished-but-ever-threatened grassroots music venues, theatres, nightlife and all the rest could certainly make good use of the harvested tourist bucks.

A tax could also help to rectify another of the mores of the modern tourist; which is that that while visitor numbers have ballooned, they tend to be spending less.

In today’s experience economy, it’s a win for the planet that people aren’t loading up on quite as much mindless tat, but Instagram shots alone don’t give much back to the authentic local culture they strive depict, in fact they mostly just encourage more people to come and take yet more of the same Instagram shots.

(Granted that is unless you’re the owner of the latest viral cake stall, or whatever, hoovering up the day tripper dollar while the fleeting interest in your pricy influencer-fodder lasts.)

Meanwhile Camden’s residents and genuinely creative businesses have to absorb the bloated weight of an estimated 28 million visitors trudging through every year. No wonder so many locals feel like large swathes of Camden Town, despite the incredible industrial heritage setting, are completely beyond the pale.

Hospitality pressure groups have said that tourist taxes simply make the UK even less attractive than existing high VAT and pricing already do, but perhaps with the move towards more devolution and decentralisation, combined with location-aware tech, some bright spark will work out a way that a top global tourist destination such as Camden Town can directly raise funds from its irrepressible throngs of sightseers.

Ultimately that should still benefit the tourists as much as us locals, by funding more of the stuff that we all want to see thriving here and, to co-opt a phrase that we may yet regret, to help ‘Make Camden Great Again’.

📊 This week’s one-click poll

Do leave us a comment after voting too, as it’s great to hear your thoughts.

Last week’s results to the question: How does listening to our AI-generated podcast make you feel?

Amazing - that is some mind-bogglingly powerful tech
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 9%

Scared - the robots really are coming for our best jobs, aren't they?!
🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 27%

Indifferent - Human contact will always win once these shiny things lose their novelty
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 64%

and some of your comments:

“Thanks for explaining about the AI agent for the theatre listings. I'd never heard of an AI agent before. About to go and explore Notebook LM, see if I can get it work for me. Pace of change blows my mind.”

“Tom, love your newsletter, read every one! My connection back to the place I miss the most. This AI podcast is shocking, but it’s low grade chat stuffed with filler chat, vague opinions and commentary that doesn’t amount to anything worth really listening to. It will presumably get better once the LLM has listened to every podcast every recorded. My hope is it will bring us more together for in person connections, as anything digested through the internet just can’t be trusted for much longer!”

“Another week pushing AI. As a struggling writer, you've just lost my subscription.” 😱

CAMDEN CULTURE CAMPAIGN

😡 Beloved Prince Charles joins the Central YMCA on the threatened list

Oh dear. Self-styled ‘forward-thinking’ real estate developers, Criterion Capital, don’t seem to be making many friends with their approach towards London’s cultural treasures at the moment.

No sooner had they hit the headlines with their intent to replace the historic Central YMCA with yet another of their windowless Zedwell hotel concepts, than they were back at it again this week - almost unbelievably so - by apparently threatening the future of the beloved Prince Charles Cinema. Honestly, someone needs to have a word.

A petition only created on Wednesday is already well on it’s way to 200,000 signatures (make sure you sign it if you haven’t already) and that should hopefully drum home the message, but their crisis management team must clearly relish a challenge.

The company, which boasts a £9bn property portfolio encompassing large chunks of the West End, claims it is all just a standard rent review, but even putting out that statement feels tone deaf in light of the shoestring that a venue such as the PCC will absolutely be surviving on.

Again, in their own words, Criterion proudly say “effective stewardship and placemaking involve crafting spaces that honour and enhance their communities, fostering both a sense of belonging and sustainable, vibrant environments for future generations.”

It would be good to know how more hotel rooms can trump some of the area’s most iconic remaining social spaces when delivering that vision. Or have we missed something? 💰

Remember, as a newsletter and hyperlocal media campaign expert, I’m always here to help with your own comms and content if you are looking for ways to navigate this rapidly evolving new media era. Reach out to: [email protected] 

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