Major Welsh attractions to shut in tourism tax row

A £1.25 per night tourism tax which could be paid by guests at hotels, B&Bs and self-catered accommodation could be introduced in Wales from 2027

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09:00, 9 DEC 2024
Updated09:52, 9 DEC 2024

Anglesey Sea Zoo has conservation at its heart — Anglesey Sea Zoo is just one of the attractions shutting on Tuesday in a strike against the propsed Welsh tourist tax (Image: Getty Images)

Welsh tourist attractions will close for one day this week in protest over the Welsh Government's tourism tax plans. Following an emergency meeting The Welsh Association of Visitor Attractions (WAVA) which represents over 100 of the leading visitor attractions in Wales passed a resolution recommending that members close down their attraction for one day Tuesday December 10.

A £1.25 per night tourism tax could be introduced in Wales from 2027, it has been announced. Guests at hotels, B&Bs and self-catered accommodation would pay the visitor levy if councils decide to introduce it in their areas. A lower rate of 75p would be charged for hostels and campsites.

Announcing the strike action the AVA said: "The reason for the action is in response to the Welsh Government's (W.G) proposed tourism tax where their own government reports indicated such a tax would damage the Welsh tourism industry. Join our WhatsApp news community here for the latest breaking news.

"In the latest commissioned Welsh Government their own findings were that in the worst scenario over 700 tourism jobs could be lost by this tax, with a revenue loss of £40 + million. Welsh Government figures were based only on a 1.6% drop in visitor numbers. Many in tourism expect the drop to be more."

Frankie Hobro, who has run Anglesey Sea Zoo for the last 18 years, said she would be shutting on Tuesday and accused the Welsh Government of ignoring the small businesses that are the backbone of Welsh tourism. She said the tax was "one more blow" after other policies such as increasing the minimum wage were introduced. You can read more details about how the proposed tax would work here.

Frankie said Welsh tourism hasn't recovered since Covid and warned people will go to England rather than pay tax to holiday in Wales. She blamed both the current Labour and previous UK Conservative government as well as the Welsh Government for policies which she said risk killing tourism.

"The tourist tax is a huge huge worry to us. People are in despair because their costs are the same but they're not making more money. Prices for everything are going up and the minimum wage is going up. People's mental health is being affected because they can't afford to carry on but they can't sell up either. The Welsh Government did not consult the industry. Tourism tax works well in Europe because they pay 8% not 20% VAT like we do."

Another WAVA member estimated they'd need to find £25,000 extra to cover the increase in their wages bill and national insurance increases in the light of other policies already impacting business.

Many members also commented that last year there was a 23% drop in the number of visitors staying overnight in Wales, and 60% of Welsh attractions saw less visitors than in 2023. No WAVA attraction is achieving the visitor numbers they did pre-Covid, WAVA warned.

In a statement WAVA members said: "Welsh tourism is the slowest to recover from Covid compared to other UK tourism regions. All leading experts in Welsh tourism had advised the Welsh Government not to go ahead with a tourism tax."