The council had planned to introduce a £1.30 per night charge on hotel and B&B stays and 75p per night on hostel and tent pitches from next October.
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Gwynedd council, which is controlled by Plaid Cymru, said its consultation on the holiday tax had drawn a record response from the public, with around 80% of businesses and tourists against the levy and around half of residents opposing it.
‘Heated’ response
“The response received in the public sessions was heated, challenging and opposing,” the council conceded in the agenda for a meeting expected to be held this week. “These were difficult meetings.”
The county is the second largest in Wales and home to mount Snowdon, located in Snowdonia National Park – which is visited by four million tourists annually, with the region facing complaints about overtourism.
The council said that following legal advice, it was postponing a final decision on the tax so officials could properly consider the responses to the consultation, meaning it is unlikely to introduce any levy before 2028.
The Welsh government, controlled by Labour at the time, gave councils the power to introduce a flat visitor levy last year, which is said would be used to improve facilities like toilets, footpaths, beaches and visitor centres.
‘Undermines’ tourism
Earlier this month, hospitality business leaders rounded on the Labour government over its plans to give English mayors the power to introduce overnight visitor levies, arguing the measure risks undermining tourism, pricing families out of staycations and placing further strain on businesses already facing significant cost increases.
Labour metro mayors have indicated they are likely to keep charges at around 5%, though ministers have opted against imposing a national cap, raising concerns that rates could increase over time.
Michelin-starred starred chef Simon Rogan has warned that the government’s new tourist tax could force him to shelve plans to open more restaurants in Britain, with expansion in the UK “not a viable proposition at the moment”.
- This story was originally published on the Morning Advertiser’s sister site, MCA, here.
