'Another nail in the coffin for Wales': Anger grows over Welsh Government tourist tax proposals

WalesOnline readers have had a mixed reaction to the news that the Welsh Government has confirmed that plans for a new tourism tax in Wales are progressing. Legislation allowing local authorities to introduce a visitor levy in their areas will be presented to the Senedd within this government term, which concludes in 2026.

This follows a public consultation that ended last December which revealed that 58% of respondents agreed tourists should contribute towards the costs of maintaining and investing in the destinations they visit. The results, published on Thursday, showed strong support for a levy in areas with high tourist numbers, with two-thirds of people living in such areas in Wales backing the idea.

Under the new scheme, local authorities will decide whether to introduce a levy, with funds raised used to benefit local areas. The plan has found support across most local authorities and other organisations in recent months, but many responses also came from representatives of the tourism industry, who largely disagreed with the principle.

However, Welsh Conservative Shadow Minister for Tourism, Tom Giffard MS, criticised the move, stating: "Nothing says welcome to Wales more than Labour announcing they will be pressing ahead with their toxic tourism tax as families gear up for the Easter holidays."

One commenter said: “Another nail in the coffin for Wales. Wales isn’t that big a draw, it’s not that great, we need to try and entice more people here not put them off! In saying that with so many holiday let owners selling up in places like Pembrokeshire anyway, there soon won’t be anywhere to stay anyway. How do they propose to get this tax from people who say book an Airbnb for 4 days? Honesty box by the pub is it?”

Another replied: “They will add the tax to the AIrBnb cost, forcing the owner to increase the cost of the accommodation to visitors. This is absolute nonsense. I have just come back from a short break in an Airbnb in Pembrokeshire and everyone I spoke to in the local tourist businesses are 100% against this tax. As they pointed out, many small tourist operators are struggling at the moment with cost of living inflation and increased local taxes eroding their already small margins. They have to pass on any increases in costs to their customers and as a result, many are having to sell up and others are going bankrupt. Airbnb owners have to inform the council of the number of nights let per year and if it's not above a certain level, they have to pay double or even treble council tax as the property is classed as a second home.”

However, one person said such a tax was quite common around the world: “You lot moaning and saying you want to know how the Assembly will spend it, it's a local tax and will be spent by the local authorities. If any of you have holidayed abroad you all paid a tourist tax, it's common around the world, if any of you have been to Houston you've paid 17% on top of your hotel bill in Tourist Tax, Switzerland €2.20 a night.”

Another said the tax made sense on some levels: “Why is everyone against this? People living here have really high council taxes, even on low wages, and can't afford to holiday. It’s difficult to get seen in the hospital with so many tourists having accidents. Shouldn't they pay towards this? People here can't afford to eat let alone go on holiday. These people can afford it.”

How do you feel about the new tourism tax plan - will it benefit Wales or put people off from visiting? Have your say in our comments section.