A local businessman and hotel owner is lending his voice to a nationwide campaign to reduce tourism VAT in the UK to bring it in line with competitor destinations in the European Union. Mike Morgan, who owns the Llansantffraed Court has firmly backed the Cut Tourism VAT campaign for some time, and has even written to the Welsh Assembly Government to urge it to take this campaign to the UK Government to get a change made to help towns that rely on tourism. Mr Morgan told the Chronicle, "Monmouthshire as a county relies heavily on tourism, as we don't have a lot of industrial works going on here. Therefore we need our tourism trade to thrive as much as it possibly can. "However, with the VAT rates being more than double many European countries, this can deter people from visiting areas like this, and others across the UK. "So this campaign aims to bring the level of VAT back into line with the rest of Europe to help the tourism industry to thrive." According to the Cut Tourism VAT campaign, the United Kingdom is one of only four countries not to take advantage of a reduced rate. This means that British families or international visitors choosing a British holiday would pay more than twice as much VAT compared to a French or German break, and twice as much as one in Italy and Spain. As of this week, the campaign has announced figures from new research handed to government, which states that cutting the rate of VAT to 5 per cent would lead to a £4bn annual boost to GDP and £3.9bn tax windfall for the Treasury. However, Mike has said that even a cut of 10 per cent which would make the rate only slightly higher than other countries in Europe could still have a phenomenal effect on sustaining tourist counties like Monmouthshire. Mike said, "With our hotel, the difference a 10 per cent VAT reduction could have on room prices could make a huge difference between two night stays and three night stays. "This means people are more confident to come to the area, see what is on offer, and will benefit every town and county." Mike has given evidence to the Welsh Assembly Government's Welsh Affairs Select Committee in the hope its members will get behind the campaign, and is also using his position within his second company, Welsh Rarebits, a group of independent hotels across Wales, to further promote this campaign. Mike said, "Within Welsh Rarebits, we collectively employ over 3,000 people, so to have these numbers and this support of a campaign that can do so much for tourism in the UK is very helpful for us. "These numbers are not just income figures, they will also mean a boost in jobs within the UK, around 120,000. This is a no brainier to help the country within a difficult economic climate." There are also representatives from Abergavenny town who are interested in supporting this campaign. Sam Dodd, Abergavenny town councillor and chairman of Abergavenny and District Tourism Association said, "While this campaign hasn't been brought to my attention previously, I think it is a very good one to get behind. "If by reducing the VAT on hotels and similar tourism based businesses in the area, we can encourage more people to come to Abergavenny and Monmouthshire, then it is definitely worthwhile. "This will also have a knock-on effect to other businesses in the area, as if people come here they will use our shops, restaurants and see the sights we have to offer. "I would definitely be in favour of this campaign, and will definitely look into it further." David Davies, Monmouth MP and Chair of the Welsh Affairs Select Committee gave credit to Mr Morgan for his work for the campaign, and expressed that this action did have the support of many people. Mr Davies said, "Mike Morgan has been a very powerful force in this campaign locally, having given evidence to the Select Committee. "While I cannot give any indication to what the select committee will decide, I do know there is growing support for this, and that many people would like to see a change like this put in place, and I support any change that can help support Monmouthshire." The Select Committee will make their decision on whether the WAG should support the campaign in the coming weeks, and for more information about the campaign, visit cuttourismvat.co.uk.