Four Qld mayors proposed a new bed tax for tourists who stay the night in their towns

A group of Queensland mayors have proposed a new bed tax for tourists, slugging them an extra levy for staying the night.

Four Queensland mayors have proposed a new bed tax for tourists, slugging visitors an additional levy for every night they spend in their towns.

Brisbane, Gold Coast, Whitsundays and Cairns’ mayors wrote to the Queensland Premier requesting the government enable a new bed tax for tourists visiting their regions.

Guests staying in accommodation would be hit with the levy, which would be funnelled back to local councils to pay for tourism infrastructure.

In a letter to the premier, the mayors stated the “community-driven tool” was successfully used in more than 100 countries around the globe.

Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner is one of four Queensland mayors that’s proposed a new bed tax for visitors who stay in their regions. Picture: NewsWire/Tertius Pickard

Brisbane City Council Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said on ABC Radio they had a great opportunity with the Olympic and Paralympic Games to grow tourism.

Mayor Schrinner said to relieve the burden on local tax and ratepayers, visitors could contribute towards the cost of tourism infrastructure.

“There’s a lot of infrastructure that’s currently paid for by ratepayers and taxpayers that is used by visitors,” he said.

“One of the things that tourists do when they come to Brisbane is jump on a City Cat and go to South Bank and places like that.

“At the moment, Brisbane ratepayers pay to maintain all of that, so having a clip of the ticket like $5 on a room per night will help promote Brisbane, will help pay for the things that tourists use, and it relieves the burden on local ratepayers.”

Brisbane City Council Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said to relieve the burden from local taxpayers and ratepayers, visitors could contribute towards the cost of tourism infrastructure. Picture: Tourism & Events Queensland

According to Tourism and Events Queensland, the state had more than 28 million visitors who spent about $34.6b, which equated to 148 million visitor nights in the year ending September 2024.

Cairns Mayor Amy Eden said the opt-in visitor levy would raise at least $16m each year for the region.

“That funding would go towards tourism infrastructure, event attraction, destination marketing, and supporting the work of Tourism Tropical North Queensland,” she said.

“Tourism is the backbone of our economy. It brings enormous benefits, but also real costs.

“The infrastructure, services and natural assets visitors enjoy — from our roads and waste management to the Esplanade and Lagoon — all require funding to maintain and enhance.

“It’s simple, transparent, and ensures that those who benefit from our world-class destination contribute directly to its sustainability — while easing cost-of-living pressures on local ratepayers.”

QLD Tourism Industry Council chief executive officer Natassia Wheeler told NewsWire the body was not advocating for a specific mechanism such as a bed tax at this stage. Picture by Scott Fletcher

QLD Tourism Industry Council chief executive officer Natassia Wheeler told NewsWire the body was not advocating for a specific mechanism such as a bed tax at this stage.

She said their main focus was ensuring the tourism industry was actively consulted in any conversation about long-term funding.

“We recognise there’s growing pressure on the resources that support tourism across Queensland,” she said.

“That’s why we’re calling for a coordinated, whole-of-government and industry-wide approach to exploring sustainable funding solutions — including new revenue models that are fair, regionally appropriate, and reinvested back into the visitor economy.

“Any future model must be co-designed with industry, be additional to existing commitments, and take into account the very different tourism profiles across the state.”

Tourism Minister Andrew Powell told the Gold Coast Bulletin while he had ruled out a statewide tourism tax, the request for local bed taxes was being considered. Picture: Nigel Hallett

A spokesman for the Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation said the state government had ruled out a statewide or local bed tax (tourism levy).

“Councils have the ability to strike their own levies for local infrastructure,” the spokesperson said.

Tourism Minister Andrew Powell told the Gold Coast Bulletin the request for local bed taxes was being considered.

“As part of our community consultation, a number of councils have sought the ability to apply their own levy,” he said.

“These requests are being considered through the finalisation of the Crisafulli government’s 20 Year Tourism Plan.”

Whitsundays MP Amanda Camm told the Bulletin the government would not legislate a statewide bed tax.

“Local governments already have the ability through the Local Government Act to introduce a levy if they so wish to, and that will be a matter for local government,” she said.

Originally published as Four Qld mayors proposed a new bed tax for tourists who stay the night in their towns