'So much for a welcome!' Labour plan to tax ALL visitors to Wales as hotels and resorts issue red alert on latest 'crazy' plan

According to Welsh Government research, 8.4 million overnight trips were taken to Wales by residents of Great Britain in 2023, though it is not clear how many of these trips were to ‘visitor accommodation’.

Wales’ Labour government want the scheme to ‘raise additional funds for local authorities to support the long-term sustainability of our tourism industry’.

But the hospitality sector, business leaders and Welsh residents have warned it could do the exact opposite, making Wales’s tourism industry less competitive as visitors head elsewhere in Britain.

Leading trade body UKHospitality Cymru, which represents over 130,000 hospitality venues in Wales, warn the tax will 'further burden accommodation businesses'.

They advocate for any funds raised from the tax to be 'ring-fenced for spending on the hospitality, tourism and visitor economy' and 'not be funnelled into day-to-day council spending'.

David Chapman, Executive Director of UKHospitality Cymru, said: “While we don't agree with the introduction of visitor levies, which place an additional burden on already over-stretched businesses and impact the ability of Welsh tourism to remain competitive, should the Bill be passed it's crucial that hospitality is made central to the process.

“The sector must be the primary beneficiary of any funds directly raised, so that we can invest in the local economy, drive job creation, and boost economic growth right across Wales.”

Samuel Kurtz, Conservative MS for the tourist hotspot of Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire, said: “If cutting the Winter Fuel Allowance and taxing family farms weren’t enough to reveal Labour’s priorities, the decision by the Welsh Labour to introduce a tourism tax in Wales further demonstrates that poor decisions aren’t confined to Labour in Westminster alone.

“A tourism tax will strike a blow against an industry that provides jobs and economic growth across the nation.

“It risks creating divisions between local authorities and making Wales less competitive with other tourism destinations. It’s the wrong tax at the wrong time.”

Mark Drakeford, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Welsh Language, defended the scheme in the Senedd yesterday.

The former First Minister said: “It is a way of dealing with the impact of tourism in those parts of Wales that most rely upon it that helps to make sure that those places go on being attractive to visitors in the future.

“Right around the globe, this has been used and there is no evidence that it leads to a detrimental impact, because the money that is raised will be reinvested in making sure that the things that bring tourists to an area go on being available to them.”

While this tax would be a UK first at a national level, Manchester City Council were the first to introduce a tourist tax which they called a ‘city visitor charge’.

It applied to visitors staying in certain hotels and visitor accommodation and raised £2.8million in its first year.

Mr Drakeford continued: “I am confident that our local authorities will use the money, should they choose to raise it, in ways that make that industry, which is very important in a number of our local authorities in Wales, an industry that goes on being successful and attractive into the future.”

It is not known how much the levy will be or how it will be paid yet, with more details due to be announced this month.

Andrew RT Davies MS, Leader of the Welsh Conservatives, said: “We’ve been absolutely clear from the start that this policy is the wrong one for Wales.

“A tourism tax will risk jobs at a time when businesses are being clobbered by Labour, it will impose red tape, and it will work against its own aims by encouraging visitors to use more council-maintained attractions and services.

“Our tourism industry should be nurtured by the Welsh Government, not hamstrung by new taxes.”

Monmouthshire resident Helen Fawcett who recently ran an Airbnb said: “We despair daily about the crazy ideas coming out of Cardiff.

“They should be promoting Wales, not shutting it down. A room tax will further deter people from visiting.

“People will feel unwelcome, and it will again impact rural businesses, many of whom are farmers trying to diversify by renting rooms.

“So much for a welcome to Wales!”

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This comes after the tourism hotspot of Pembrokeshire in southwest Wales introduced a 200 per cent premium on council tax for second homes, designed to make it easier for locals to buy their first home.

But the move only lasted six months before Pembrokeshire county councillors cut the rate to 150 per cent, citing a surge in house sales as homes for sale were exempt from the premium.

Tourism is a key part of the Welsh economy. In 2022, it accounted for 11.8 per cent of employment in Wales, with 159,000 people employed in the sector.

The Tourist Tax Bill will be introduced to the Senedd on 25 November when more details will be provided.