The Welsh visitor levy would grant local authorities the power to introduce a charge on overnight stays in their area, with individual councils able to decide whether to implement it following consultation.
Join our new WhatsApp channel: The Morning Round-Up
Get the biggest pub trade stories straight to your phone. Listen to our one-minute daily news briefing and receive breaking news, exclusives and sector updates throughout the day. Remember to turn notifications on in the top right corner!
Join the channel here.
Anglesey council voted against introducing the tax last week, while Conwy has also suspended its plans.
Earlier this month, Gwynedd Council suspended its visitor levy plans following backlash from the hospitality and tourism sectors.
The move followed consultations across each of the three areas, which revealed some 83% of businesses and 84% of visitors in Anglesey were against the plans.
Consultation process
Most visitors also said they would consider staying elsewhere or reducing the length of their stay if it was introduced.
Meanwhile, almost 80% of both visitors and businesses in Gwynedd opposed the levy, and 62% of respondents to Conwy’s consultation were against its plans.
UKHospitality Cymru executive director David Chapman warned the tax would hit families and visitors financially while increasing bureaucracy.
He continued: “Councils are clearly beginning to recognise the reality of this tax. Their actions to ditch their holiday tax plans back the views of locals and visitors.
“I hope all other Welsh councils look at what has happened in Anglesey, Conwy and Gwynedd and decide it is not worth the pain, politically or economically, to pursue a holiday tax.”
Wake-up call
The Welsh trade body, which has opposed the visitor levy plans since their inception, said the results should also send a message to the UK Government, which is set to give mayors and local leaders similar powers in England as part of its wider devolution plans.
It comes after analysis from Oxford Economics showed a holiday tax in England risks 33,000 jobs and would represent a £1.6bn tax increase for families and holidaymakers.
UKHospitality chief executive Allen Simpson said: “It should come as no surprise to these councils that their residents, visitors and businesses don’t want to be taxed more during a cost-of-living crisis.
“This should have been abundantly clear at the outset and I’m pleased local outcry has finally made local authorities realise what a terrible idea a holiday tax is.
“This level of public opposition should be a wake-up call to the UK Government and other councils.”
