We really want visitors to come,' says Carrie van Park, who works for the Isle of Wight tourist board. 'A tourist tax will just discourage visits. But we realised that a negative tourist tax would do the opposite.'
The negative tax is provisionally set at three pounds per night. Economists have estimated that this could increase overnight visits to the island by between one thousand and one hundred thousand over the tourist season.
'Visitors already have to pay for the ferry to get here,' says Carrie, 'and that is a financial disincentive. Our negative tourist tax will help to offset that. It will apply to all overnight stays, except where visitors sleep on the beach or in their cars.
We welcome all kinds of visitors to our beautiful island, but we draw the line at the cheapskate, low life scum who come because they mistakenly think that they can get a duty free allowance and live off cheap beer for a week, and then save money by not paying for a campsite. That really gives us the needles. There, I've won a tenner. My colleagues bet me I wouldn't say that.'