People in Britain’s ‘most dangerous migrant town’ call for tourist tax to pay for crackdown on anti-social behaviour

A resort town home to several expat hotels is demanding a tourist tax to pay for the effects of anti-social behaviour.

Authorities in Bournemouth are asking the government for permission for hotel and B&B owners to start charging guests a tax on top of their accommodation bills.

Locals believe the town’s character has been damaged by the influx of immigrants, youth gangs and drug addicts, and some are protesting in front of immigrant hotels.

However, some of the refugees in the town actually agree with the local sentiment; They had previously told the Mail they would prefer to go home.

The extra revenue from the tourist tax will go towards the ongoing costs of ‘managing’ the Dorset resort’s popular beaches and seaside precinct during peak periods, including appointing more beach rangers and investing in litter clearance.

Last week, in the middle of a heatwave, after everyone went home, council staff collected 83 tonnes of waste, including tents, food packaging, empty cans and bottles.

If the Liberal Democrat-run council gets government approval to introduce a tax, overnight visitors can expect to pay around £2 per person per night, meaning a week’s holiday for a family of four would be £56 more expensive.

Hospitality chiefs have warned such a tax would only deter people from holidaying domestically and unfairly penalize those who revere the town.

Bournemouth was the target of a series of anti-immigrant protests last summer (pictured)

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council leader Millie Earl said: ‘Our area is a holiday destination and we really welcome the vast majority of people who respect our area, but it is a very small minority of people who want to come and cause mayhem and commit crime.

‘They are people we don’t want coming to our area and, to be honest, our message is that they are not welcome.

‘The visitor tax is allowed in other regions and it’s not fair that it doesn’t happen here.’

Bournemouth has weathered a storm of anti-social behavior in recent years.

It led local man Gary Bartlett to form his own vigilante patrol group, the Protection Force (now Conservation Community Support), which policed ​​the streets at night.

At one point, one of the town’s asylum hotels was home to a group of immigrants convicted of violent crimes for only 10 days; This has earned Bournemouth the unfortunate nickname of the UK’s “most dangerous immigrant town”.

Turkish migrant Halil Dal, who was housed at the Britannia Hotel in the South Coast town, was freed from prison at the end of September last year after drunkenly stabbing a man with a broken bottle.

Days earlier, Shkar Jamal, who lived on the same property, had missed a sentence for threatening a man with a pool cue and was later discovered eating fish and chips nearby.

Meanwhile, Kurdish immigrant Hana Hassan was one of a gang of 12 men armed with machetes who attacked a shopkeeper in the town following a nightclub dispute.

And earlier this year, migrant Abdoela Berhan was convicted of punching Cleo Lake in the face after she rejected his advances outside a nightclub in Bournemouth. He lost consciousness in the attack.

Berhan, who was staying in an immigration hotel in the town and was convicted of attacking a subway worker, remains at large.

A local who lives next door to the Britannia previously told the Mail: ‘I’ve lived here since 2008 and I can tell you that Bournemouth has changed.’

Another said: ‘I used to walk easily in the evenings, but I don’t go out anymore.’

Jordanian asylum seeker Ahmad Hani said he felt very unsafe in the hotel he called home, telling the Mail last October: ‘I have spoken to the Ministry of Internal Affairs about returning to my country.

‘There’s too much crime. The police don’t help anyone in Bournemouth.

‘Some people living in the hotel have no feelings towards animals, people or children. Some of them are dangerous in the hotel, they’re really bad people.’

The tourist tax will be used to clean Bournemouth beaches after busy days (pictured: Young people breathing from a balloon on the beach during the May Bank Holiday)

Last year, Bournemouth Conservation Force (now Conservation Community Support) was established to help keep local people safe.

The council has also asked the government for permission to increase parking fines for visitors who leave their cars on double yellow lines, grass verges, roundabouts and private driveways. The current penalty is £35.

Alistair Hardyside, chairman of the South West Tourism Alliance, said hotels and B&B owners should not have to charge extra tax to their guests.

He said: ‘Domestic tourism is already in decline in rural coastal areas in the south-west. There has been a 21 percent decrease since 2025.

‘So if you have a market that’s struggling and declining, you probably don’t want to put a tax on it.’

Rosie Radwell, president of the BiH Region Hospitality Association, said: ‘It’s not fair to charge families who come down, stay the night and have a good time.’

He added that there would be no problem if the money was spent on activities that stimulate tourism rather than increasing the municipality’s coffers.