A new report has warned about the potential damage a tourism tax would cause to the industry as the Wales Tourism Alliance has re-affirmed its total opposition to the proposal which is being considered by the Welsh Government.
Members of the Alliance, which represents all sectors of the tourism industry throughout Wales, have met with officials of Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government Mark Drakeford’s Treasury team to express their concerns about a possible tax. A tourism tax is one of four ideas for new taxes on which the Welsh Government has invited views. The Alliance is pressing the Welsh Government to reject the tax idea because of the adverse impact it would have on the tourism industry in Wales. Having already lobbied fellow minister Ken Skates on the matter when he was responsible for tourism, the Alliance is now seeking an urgent meeting with new tourism minister, Dafydd Elis Thomas. The Alliance is so concerned about the proposal that it asked tourism expert Professor Annette Pritchard to prepare a report on the subject. In her report, she warns that a tourism tax would damage the economic performance, brand and prospects for Wales. The report states: “The UK tourism industry has one of the world’s highest tax burdens. Most European countries have significantly reduced VAT on their tourism industries to encourage growth, employment and revenue. The imposition of higher taxes has been shown to inhibit growth, employment, revenue and holiday-taking. “Tourism outperforms all Welsh Government priority sectors and is the country’s second largest employer. A proposed tourism tax will damage its economic performance, brand and prospects. “It will also increase social exclusion, undermine policies to create a more healthy and active Wales, limit opportunities for economic growth in Welsh-speaking heartlands and disproportionately impact those least able to afford to take a holiday. Alliance chair Adrian Barsby has written to Wales’ First Minister Carwyn Jones, warning that tourism businesses had already faced significant business rate increases and a tourism tax would make them uncompetitive in the UK market. Mr Drakeford has thanked the Alliance for its comments and stressed that at this stage the Welsh Government is gathering views on all of the tax ideas it has put forward. “Professor Pritchard’s report states that prices will rise and Wales will gain the unenviable reputation of being the only country in the UK which charges its visitors to stay,” said Mr Barsby. “This will damage the growth potential of the industry at a time when post-Brexit it may be called upon to play an even greater role in the Welsh economy.” He added that the Alliance acknowledged that the industry imposed additional costs on local authorities, but the Welsh Government’s formula for allocating financial support to councils made explicit provision for this. The Alliance is prepared to meet with the Welsh Local Government Association to discuss ways in which the industry may be able to help. “We understand the pressures on local authorities at the most popular tourist destinations in Wales,” added Mr Barsby. “However, we believe that visitor management by the industry in collaboration with local authorities, Welsh Government and destination partnerships is the most sustainable way of dealing with such issues. “I would add that whilst imposing additional costs on local authority services, tourism also helps to sustain a wider range of facilities for residents to enjoy than would be the case without the industry. “A tax on tourism businesses would damage local economies and affect employment prospects by making us less competitive with destinations in England.” Ends For more information please contact either Adrian Barsby, Wales Tourism Alliance chairman, on Tel: 01352 741998 or 07921 787668, Adrian Greason Walker on Tel: --- or Duncan Foulkes, public relations adviser, on Tel: 01686 650818.
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Wales Tourism Week highlights the importance of the tourism industry to Wales in income and job generation and in supporting our cultural identity. Wales Tourism Week is held annually to raise the profile of the tourism industry and to highlight it's huge revenue generating value and the opportunities it provides for jobs and careers.
The main aim is to push tourism up the political agenda by working together across tourism sectors and boundaries. The Wales Tourism Alliance would therefore like to see as much engagement between the tourism industry and our politicians during the Week - 15th to the 21st May 2018 - although events either side are welcome too. Whatever your political views, we are at an historical juncture, it is important that we work together to showcase what we offer and how important the industry is to the economy of local communities in the light of the challenges to be faced from the UK leaving the EU. This week long ‘celebration’ aims to push the fact that our industry is one of Wales’s most resilient employers, job creators and a basic source of economic growth which must not be taken for granted. If you have an event that you would like to publish, then please register with the link below. Your event can be as simple as inviting your local AM or MP out to your business or local area for a meet and greet, with a cup of tea...but please let us know, cameras and press releases in hand! Here is a link to a UK Govt. consultation proposing that licensed premises in England and Wales should be able to open until 1.00 am on Saturday 19 May and Sunday 20 May 2018 in order to celebrate the Royal Wedding.
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/672104/20180105_Royal_Wedding_Licensing_Hours_Extension_-_Consultation_for_gov.uk.pdf To make life easy, you can respond to the consultation via the online survey below, which should take all of 10 seconds to complete as you only have to tick four yes/no questions. https://www.homeofficesurveys.homeoffice.gov.uk/s/MQ6J7/ The consultation is open 4 February 2018 Matt Hancock MP for West Suffolk has just been announced as the replacement for Karen Bradley as UK Culture Secretary. Karen Bradley has been appointed Northern Ireland Secretary. Matt Hancock was Minister of State for Digital and Culture so he has significant experience within the Dept. of Media, Culture and Sport. He was also Minister of State for Business and Enterprise in Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy from 2014-15 where he undertook the Sharing Economy Review which aimed to position the UK to be a world leader.
The GDPR Directive enters into force on 5 May 2016 and EU Member States have to transpose it into their national law by 6 May 2018. What does this mean for the UK? In brief...the existing Data Protection Act (DPA) will be replaced by the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), a framework with greater scope and much tougher punishments for those who fail to comply with new rules around the storage and handling of personal data.
'Ah...but aren't we leaving the EU?' You may ask...Okay the UK is in the process of uncoupling from the EU, however the Great Repeal Act means it is very likely to be converted into British law beyond the leave date, so this does not look like an easy get out and because of the ease with which many SMEs collect data and cyber criminals seize that data, the DPA, drawn up in very different times, means the current legislation has been long overdue for an overhaul. One of the biggest changes and challenges SMEs will face will be concerns over consent. Under the new regulations, companies must keep a thorough record of how and when an individual gives consent to store and ultimately use their personal data. This is one of many new conditions, by all accounts this is going to be very demanding legislation and potentially very costly if a fine is imposed for a data breach or misuse. Of course there is far more to this subject than can be placed here. BT have produced a handy guide which you may want to download called 'Dealing with new EU data-protection regulation'. https://business.bt.com/content/dam/bt/business/PDFs/solutions/GDPR_white%20paper_v4.pdf The figures for September are fairly static - down 1% on volume and up 2% in value, but monthly figures can fluctuate so the longer three month figures are a bit more accurate showing visits up 4% and spend up by 3%.
This slow-down in growth has pulled the YTD figures down to 7% and 9% respectively, with figures for nine months of the year, including the main tourism season completed, it is difficult to see the end of the year figures varying significantly from this level, which would mean that inbound tourism should generate £2bn in additional export revenue for the UK economy in 2017. This is an exceptional performance and is only second to the £2.6bn increase in inbound tourism revenue that was generated in 2013, after the 2012 Olympics. This revenue is sufficient to generate over 35,000 new jobs in the tourism industry. However, the UK’s growth in inbound tourism is less that that being achieved by Spain, France and the Netherlands, but equal to Italy and Switzerland and only 1% above Germany - these countries have not had a beneficial 15% fall in their currency. The journey purpose data, as in previous months, shows that growth has been particularly strong in the Leisure and VFR segments, while Business travel is again down markedly due to business uncertainty related to Brexit. The global source market data shows that most of the growth is coming from the long-haul markets. What is new and interesting is that outbound tourism is starting to show it’s first signs of slowing down with visits down 2% and spend down 1% over the last three months. While not unexpected given the exchange rate, the outbound tourism market has been very resilient over 2017 and suggests that travel is seen as necessity rather than a luxury and there is a two-tier economy in the UK with a large number of people still benefiting from very low mortgage rates. On the last day of parliament for the year 2017, the Brexit Committee released 39 sector reports including the one on Tourism. The report is a run-through structure, volume and value of sector and outlines the linkages with the EU in terms of tourism trade, funding, regulatory regime and the framework for trade outside the EU. There are three main points of interest: - The report appears to have been written within the last two months as a number of the figures (IPS figures) were not available prior to this ( a generous view might be that the document has been recently updated) - The section on the views of the industry has been redacted – which suggests that these views did not express overwhelming support for Brexit - There is no analysis of the impact of Brexit on the tourism industry. Download a copy of the Tourism Report:
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