WALES TOURISM LEVY

Background

The Welsh Government passed legislation in 2025 which gives each of Wales’s 22 Local Authorities the power to introduce a Visitor Levy on overnight accommodation in their area.  It is then for the Local Authority to decide whether to adopt the levy.

For local authorities who decide to go ahead, the charges will be as follows:

  • £1.30 per person per night for hotels, bed and breakfast and self-catering accommodation. (£1.56 if VAT registered).
  • £0.75 per person per night for campsites and hostels (£0.90 if VAT registered)

The Levy is essentially a “bed tax” as it falls on overnight visitors who stay longest and spend more, while day visitors pay nothing.

It is not automatic and Local Authorities must consult locally, then give 12 months’ notice before implementing it.

To date only one local authority has committed to adopting the Levy – Cardiff Council.  This will be adopted from April 2027.

Three further local authorities in North Wales – Anglesey, Conwy & Gwynedd – ran consultations over the Summer 2026 which ended in July.  Results of these were published in September 2026 and in all 3 cases a decision was made to defer the decision and not to move forward to implementation at this time. This decision can be revisited but could not be implemented before May 2028 at the very earliest.  This is significant as it means only Cardiff will be adopting the Levy in the foreseeable future.

To date no other formal consultations have been launched.  Powys have recently launched a pre-consultation, with a further formal consultation required if they progress to the next stage.

WHAT HAS PASC UK CYMRU DONE?

PASC UK Cymru oppose the introduction of the Visitor Levy and have been pushing back against it since it was first proposed in the 2021 Labour Party Senedd Manifesto.

Having responded to all consultations since it was first proposed, in January 2025, PASC UK Cymru were invited alongside sector leaders to give Oral Evidence to the Senedd Finance Committee during the scrutiny process.

Levy Bill Evidence sessions in the Senedd, Alistair Handyside, PASC UK, Lisa Stopher, West Wales Holidays, Barbara Griffiths, North Wales Holiday Cottages and Carl Thompson, AirBnB.

The case was presented directly to the Senedd Committee about the potential impact on businesses, jobs and the wider visitor economy.

We have continued to meet MSs, Councillors, Officials and stakeholders as the Levy moved through legislation towards possible implementation.

PASC UK Cymru met directly with Anglesey, Conwy and Gwynedd Councils, where we presented the data and evidence of the proposed impact in their local authority areas.  We were invited to submit supplementary evidence to accompany the results to be presented to the Cabinet.

We continue to liaise with all local authorities who may be consider adopting the Levy.

In the meantime, PASC UK Cymru are working closely with Cardiff Council as they move forward to implementation next April 2027 including joining their Levy Partnership Forum to provide input on how any Levy spends may be utilised.

PASC UK Cymru has been closely involved throughout the development of the Visitor Levy, with constant and ongoing discussions with both the Welsh Government Levy Bill team and the Welsh Revenue Authority (WRA).

We are part of the WRA stakeholder communications process and have worked to influence how the Levy will operate in practice. We have made recommendations based on the realities of running self-catering businesses, challenged unnecessary burdens on operators and platforms, and pushed for the system to be as simple and workable as possible. That engagement continues as the WRA prepares to administer the Levy and the Registration Scheme.

WHAT IS PASC UK CYMRU’S VIEW OF THE LEVY?

Our position is straightforward. We oppose the introduction of the Visitor Levy. PASC UK Cymru has opposed the Visitor Levy throughout.

We do not believe that adding another tax to overnight stays is good tourism policy, particularly when the sector is already under pressure. The Levy hits the very people who stay longest and spend most in our communities, while day visitors pay nothing.

It is a regressive tax and will fall hardest on low-income families, including through the decision to charge for children.

Our wider concern is the cumulative impact. The Levy does not arrive in isolation. Welsh tourism businesses are already dealing with a series of costly government interventions, and many small businesses are at a tipping point.

We have consistently called for policy based on real data, not assumptions but the economic case is poor.  The Welsh Government’s original Economic Impact Assessment predicted losses to the visitor economy of between £17.7m and £26.8m in GVA, together with the loss of 485 to 730 full-time equivalent jobs. The Welsh Government has also based their economic assessment on an estimate of between 16,000 and 55,000 accommodation providers in Wales – a huge variance on which to base policy.

The Welsh Government document published when the Levy Legislation was passed in September 2025 states that they expect that the Wales Visitor Levy will raise £33million if ALL Local Authorities were to charge it. As you can read above, so far just one is committed to doing so. The legislative costs, the administration by both Operators and the WRA will be far outweighed by what will be small sums raised.

You can access the Welsh Government Document here: https://www.gov.wales/sites/default/files/publications/2025-09/visitor-levy-and-register-of-visitor-accommodation-providers-leaflet.pdf

The economic case therefore needs to be looked at again against what is actually happening, not what was assumed when the Levy was designed.

We will continue to work with the Welsh Government and WRA to make the Levy as workable as possible, but our position remains clear.

Another tax on visitors risks making Wales less competitive and further weakening the rural and coastal communities that depend on a strong visitor economy.

You can read the PASC UK policy positions https://www.pascuk.co.uk/pascukpolicy/

Why are we so concerned?

There are many areas of concern, which have and will continue to be raised with the Welsh Government. These include:

  1. Greatest impact is on low-income families, 
  2. Charging for children, including Welsh children on school trips.
  3. Overnight stays in Wales are falling and many predict fewer visitors as a result of the levy.
  4. An estimated cost of up to 730 private sector jobs. 
  5. It will cost more to administer than revenue raised.
  6. Wales is already amongst the most expensive destination for visitors worldwide.
  7. Funds are not properly ring fenced for the tourism industry. There should be ‘no taxation without representation”. Operators who have to charge the levy, administrate and remit the funds to the WRA, must have a say in how it is spent.

Where are we now?

The legislation is passed.

The decision on whether to actually introduce the Levy now rests with individual Local Authorities.

Anglesey, Conwy and Gwynedd have completed their consultations and will not move forward to implementation at this time.

Cardiff Council will implement the Levy effective April 2027. Powys is at a pre-Consultation phase.

 

WHERE MIGHT THE LEVY BE INTRODUCED?

The Levy is not a Wales-wide tax.

Every Local Authority makes its own decision.

This creates the real prospect of a postcode lottery, with visitors paying the tax in one area but not in another, which creates a competitive problem.

 

LEGISLATION, CONSULTATIONS AND PASC UK CYMRU RESPONSES

We will keep the key Visitor Levy documents together here so that Members and the wider sector can easily follow what is happening.

Welsh Government

  • Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Act 2025: Explanatory Memorandum here: https://www.gov.wales/visitor-accommodation-register-and-levy-etc-wales-act-2025-explanatory-memorandum

Senedd

PASC UK Cymru Visitor Levy papers

Local Authority Consultations Impact Assessments:

  • Cardiff Impact assessment here: https://cardiff.moderngov.co.uk/mgConvert2PDF.aspx?ID=92299

Cardiff Consultation Responses here: https://cardiff.moderngov.co.uk/mgConvert2PDF.aspx?ID=92426

Further information here: https://www.gov.wales/visitor-levy-wales

WRA Resources  Lots of resources including:

Technical Guidance:  https://www.gov.wales/visitor-levy-for-visitor-accommodation-providers-technical-guidance

How will we keep you informed?

  • Weekly Wales Newsletter: PASC UK Cymru will keep everyone updated of any developments through our Thursday Wales Newsletter.
  • Online Meetings and Webinars: We will update on Tourism Levy in our Member Meetings and Webinars.
  • Social channels: As decisions are announced.
  • This page: We will keep the information updated so there is one place to see what is happening across Wales regards the Tourism Levy.

PLEASE SUPPORT THE WORK PASC UK CYMRU IS DOING ON YOUR BEHALF

We are fighting on so many fronts in Wales.

The Visitor Levy is another major intervention being imposed on a sector already dealing with the impact of 182 and the wider policy pile-on.

We need evidence, research and people on the ground to keep pushing back.

PASC UK Cymru will continue to put the economic case directly to Councillors, MSs and decision-makers.

We need data, not assumptions.

If you are not already a Member, please consider joining PASC UK Cymru and supporting this work.

The Visitor Levy legislation may have passed, but the decisions that determine where it is actually introduced are being made now.

Joining PASC UK is easy, a single property is just £90 (plus VAT from 1 January 2025) per annum. Membership gives a range of benefits including email and phone support and numerous sector specific papers on topics ranging from legal papers providing Terms and Conditions, CCTV etc, plus papers dealing with VOA, Business Rates, EV Charging etc as well as access to discounts via the PASC UK Buying Club.

JOIN NOW