Potential pilot schemes for a tourism levy will be considered over the summer, the Enterprise Minister told Tynwald.

Ramsey MHK Lawrie Hooper had tabled a motion calling for the introduction of a ‘Biosphere levy’, a charge per occupied bed or room per night, with funds raised being used for developing, supporting or promoting the island's visitor economy.

But Enterprise Minister Tim Johnston said work on such a scheme was already under way and added: ‘The department will be considering potential pilot schemes over the summer’.

He said it would provide a sustainable source of additional funds to invest in the visitor economy, and his department would consult with the sector before reporting back to Tynwald in Febuary.

Mr Hooper said similar levies had been adopted around the world and didn’t have a negative impact on tourism - and could actually have the opposite effect of increasing tourism.

But Onchan MHK Rob Callister said he was strongly opposed. He said it should be called a ‘visitor’ or ‘tourist’ tax rather than obscuring it under the guise of the island’s biosphere initiative.

He pointed out that of the 329,613 visitors welcomed in 2024, 21,679 were day trippers arriving on cruise ships who wouldn’t be subject to the levy, and of the remaining 307,934 visitors, less than 38.4% visited for a holiday.

‘Our priority should remain on promoting longer stays and off-peak travel rather than introducing a visitor or tourism tax at this time,’ he said.

Douglas North MHK John Wannenburgh said since Covid, the island’s hospitality sector is ‘very delicately placed’ and ‘any further pricing could disrupt it’.

He said revenue for any levy must be ringfenced for the visitor economy and ‘not just swallowed up in general taxation’.

Mr Callister was the only Tynwald member to vote against the motion as amended by the Enterprise Minister.