Following the first 5-year term of WightBID, local businesses who have been forced to pay towards the tourism programme – even throughout the coronavirus pandemic – have voiced their disdain for the levy.
WightBID was introduced to focus on marketing the Island elsewhere in the UK in an attempt to encourage more people to take their holidays here, but some local business owners have said they hope the scheme will be scrapped.
3 hoteliers across the Island were taken to court for non-payment of the mandatory fee during the coronavirus pandemic even though they had been forced to close due to Government restrictions. They say that Visit Isle of Wight – who has been in charge of the WightBID during its first term – offered a 20% reduction in the rate, but that this was not enough.
WightBID came into action in 2016 and has so far spent the money collected from Island businesses on several ‘high profile’ campaigns, including billboards, posters on the London Underground, activities at Waterloo station, and social media campaigns.
6% of Island businesses have been taken to court over the non-payment of the fee – which they are legally forced to pay on top of standard business rates, no matter the size of the business or how much exposure they get from the marketing conducted.
The rate payable by each business is determined by a percentage figure of their property rateable value, with the minimal level being £150.
So what do businesses get for their money? On top of a ‘free’ web page on the Visit Isle of Wight website, business owners who are eligible to pay the WightBID levy can also be featured on a newsletter, and a ‘whole host of things that happen throughout the year’.
Many owners on the Island have raised questions about why they should pay the fee given that their businesses are not reliant on mainland marketing. The Visit Wight Pro website, used by business owners as part of the WightBID administration, explains:
“Your ability to earn your income from tourism relies on there being visitor services, attractions, tidy beaches and well managed open countryside. It also relies on destination advertising on the mainland which, after many years, has now stopped.
“You may be able to sustain your customer base for a while, but if the whole Island ceases to be appealing, sooner or later a proportion of your visitors will try out new destinations who have worked together to develop compelling reasons to visit.”
Visit Isle of Wight is hoping to secure a further 5-year term as the BID Management Company. You can find out more about the WightBID here.
I am not a business owner so have no axe to grind but it seems to me that businesses are not getting their money’s worth with this unfair and unwanted levy , on top of already harsh business rates , so to offer a measly 20% reduction and to pursue them when they are not receiving an income due to Covid is unfair
What crap,the Island was doing just as well without, how many other Counties do this ?. It’s the cost of ferry’s the problem. How come in 10yrs the cost is around 300% more. ( Used to get RTN with car £35 , now £90 – £150 ). Greedy . Our Income has maybe gone up 10% but other costs eg fuel is very low at the moment, remember when was £1.75 Lt, now £1.30 that’s a litre on forcort, cheaper bulk .
Always thought donating to charity was optional. I guess companies like this and the BBC think otherwise. Maybe I’ll start a business which forces people to use it and take them to court if they don’t.
I think that the BidLevy should be either done away with entirely or should be a voluntary arrangement. I would like to see the Visit Isle of Wight ‘books’ to see exactly how much is spend on staffing costs and how much is ACTIVELY spent on useful promotion of IoW businesses.
I seem to recall there was some pie-in-the-sky suggestion originally that some of the monies would be used to create new attractions!!
This levy is a disgusting tax on struggling businesses, the only venues which seem to matter to this company are Robin Hill, Tapnell Farm, Needles and Blackgang Chine.
None of the small businesses i have contact with have seen any benefit whatsoever and want to get out of the scheme.
I pay this leavy and have received commission free bookings from the web site run by the council. I pay Booking.com 18% Expedia 17.5% and Air BnB 15% so I an quids in.
The best thing all island businesses can do, is back the fixed link viability study, & donate a small amount if they haven’t already, because the ferry fares & delays are most of the problem. As well as very limited things to do here & ridiculous prices to get into Robin hill etc, for very poor attractions. Last time I went there with my 2 girls, I was appalled at the state of it, & the lack of things in there, not to mention the cheek of having to pay extra for the toboggan run. The IOW has lost over 300,000 tourists in the past 8 years, & that will only get worse.