A warm Welsh welcome. That’s what people from Wales, England and further afield can expect to receive when they visit the spectacular tourist destinations we have to offer.
With our thriving cities, epic landscapes and coastal towns and villages there’s something for everyone in Wales – and we want to show it off. And to be able to continue doing this, we need to make sure communities are supported.
The visitor levy is one of the ways we’re looking to support tourism, in the interests of businesses, communities and visitors alike.
A levy is about sustainability and fairness. Sustainability, because keeping our coastline clean, our parks pristine and our cities vibrant takes work – and a levy will help communities maintain our beautiful destinations for generations in the future. And fairness, because the infrastructure which supports tourism should be funded by all those who rely on it, not local residents alone.
Our vision is to grow tourism for the good of Wales. A visitor levy will contribute to sustainable, fair tourism – with economic growth coexisting with environmental sustainability.
Nothing is happening overnight; the process of creating legislation and implementing a levy would take many years.
The specific detail of the proposal is still being developed, we are using responses to the consultation and wider evidence to help inform the design. The levy would apply to overnight visits in commercially-let visitor accommodation in Local Authority areas that choose to use a levy. This is generally the case in other countries where visitor levies are used. The levy will be a small charge that contributes towards sustainable tourism.
We want visitors to know that their contribution could make a big difference in supporting the destinations they love and enjoy. A small charge wouldn’t be unique to Wales. If someone has been on holiday to Greece or France, to the Netherlands or New Zealand – or to any of more than 40 countries around the world who have visitor levies – they will have paid a small charge to help keep those places attractive to visit. They may not even have noticed paying it.
While Manchester have recently introduced a £1 per room charge visitor levy and Scotland are proceeding with legislative proposals, the UK nations look to be outliers in not asking tourists to pay a small charge to support the areas they are visiting. A levy will put Wales on the same standing as other world class tourist destinations. So why not Wales?
It is also important to remember that we are proposing to give councils the option of introducing a levy. The scale and economic impact of tourism varies significantly across Wales. Our plans would give local areas the power to decide if a levy would be right for them.
The idea for the levy originated from a public debate and call for ideas about new taxes in Wales. As we take forward this process we will continue to be open and transparent, listening to all who want to have their say. We have already been speaking to businesses, third sector representatives, councils, industry bodies and counterparts in overseas administrations who have visitor levies in place.
We know how important tourism is to so many parts of Wales, and it’s vital we have sustainable, responsible tourism that works both for visitors and for the communities they’re visiting.
The visitor levy is being taken forward as part of the Co-operation Agreement signed between the Welsh Government and Plaid Cymru.
The consultation for the Visitor Levy proposals closed on 13 December 2022 and the summary of outputs can be reviewed via: Discretionary visitor levy for local authorities | GOV.WALES
We announced next steps for the policy via Written Statement on the 30 March 2023.
Written by Rebecca Evans, Welsh Government Minister for Finance and Local Government, and Cefin Campbell, Plaid Cymru Designated Member.
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I live in north wales and always holiday in south west wales but I will not be very happy paying extra
Need to have information as to how this will work, tourists don’t necessarily enter through Cardiff airport, can understand why Pen y Fan and Snowdonia walkers should pay a fee
A tourism tax or as you’ve ‘re named it visitors levy is the last thing you should be looking into at the moment. As if this country (UK) isn’t expensive enough and heading into recession. No one minds a tax \ levy if your visiting a country with cheap food, alcohol, accommodation and endless sun like Spain, Wales cannot offer this. Both Scotland & England have considered & turned this idea. As for supporting local communities ??? How ? beaches we cant walk on until out of season, parking we still have to pay for ? If you don’t work in the tourism industry then we often suffer all the inconvenience of tourism & non of the benefits ie traffic, poor parking, trespass on our farming land, damage to crops & livestock, no access for deliveries, emergency services or farm equipment etc. Surely in these frightening times with covid still in the picture and residents still unable to see a basic GP the Welsh Government & Councils should be looking at how they can support the residents not price itself out of tourism 🤔
Utter madness to even think about it. It will just deter tourism big time.