A visitor attractions group in Wales says it is advising attractions to close their doors on Tuesday (10 December) in protest over the Welsh Government’s tourist tax plans.
The Welsh Association of Visitor Attractions (WAVA) announced that after an emergency meeting it has decided to recommend that its members close down for one day.
The WAVA is an independent trade body that represents over 100 visitor attractions in Wales.
After the government shared its plans for a tourist tax last month, the WAVA said that the reason for this action “is in response to the Welsh Government’s proposed tourism tax where their own government reports indicated such a tax would damage the Welsh tourism industry”.
Finance Secretary Mark Drakeford introduced the bill on Monday, 25 November for consideration by the Senedd, the Welsh Parliament, who will scrutinise and vote on the legislation. A final decision may not be made until 2025.
The bill currently proposes that the levy would be set up at 75p per person, per night for those staying in hostels and on campsites.
A £1.25 tax would be charged per person, per night to people staying in all other accommodation types.
The government said that it estimates that if all Welsh local authorities choose to introduce a visitor levy, it could generate up to £33m a year.
In WAVA’s press release, however, it pointed out that “in the latest commissioned Welsh Government report, their own findings were that in the worst scenario, over 700 tourism jobs could be lost by this tax, with a revenue loss of £40m+.”
“Welsh Government figures were based only on a 1.6 per cent drop in visitor numbers. Many in tourism expect the drop to be more.”
The government’s economic impact assessment, conducted by Calvin Jones of Cardiff Business School, weighed up scenarios based on an optimistic, neutral and pessimistic outlook on how the tax will affect the economy.
Gross losses to full-time employment under a pessimistic model is 730 jobs, a neutral outlook is 485 job losses and an optimistic outlook is a loss of 250 jobs.
“Economy-wide visitor levy-related trip expenditure related losses in Welsh economic output (in 2023 terms) range from an estimated -£16.1m in the most optimistic scenario, to -£47.5m,” the report adds.
Frankie Hobro, who has run Anglesey Sea Zoo for the last 18 years, is one member to speak out about shutting its doors on Tuesday, telling WalesOnline that the introduction of the tax means “people are in despair because their costs are the same but they’re not making more money.”
Cliff Railway in Aberystwyth has also said it is planning to close on Tuesday, telling Cambrian News that “it feels like tourism is being treated like a second-class industry.”
One anonymous member at the WAVA meeting said they were “suffering from mental stress” due to the government “continuously putting hurdles in the path of my business”.
“I feel like retiring and giving up the fight,” they added.
Another member said that the visitor levy is “complete economic madness.”
“We should be encouraging visitors to come to Wales and not taxing them for coming,” they said.
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