On Sunday 10 March our Chair, Roland Rees Evans was invited to take part in BBC Politics Wales to discuss the closure of Oakwood Park and whether this is just the tip of the iceberg for the crisis in Welsh tourism.  Watch the episode here: ​Politics Wales - 09/03/2025 - BBC iPlayer

The Wales Tourism Alliance welcomes the Welsh Government’s additional funding for health and social care.  We also welcome the £1 bus ticket pilot for under 21s.  Many young people in Wales start their careers in the tourism and hospitality industry and this initiative will make public transport more accessible and making their earnings go further.

However, it is disappointing to see tourism still receiving so little financial support from the Welsh Government.  As an industry that generates around £3.8bn annually for the Welsh economy we would like to see the Welsh Government investing more in our visitor infrastructure and promoting Wales as a destination. 

Instead our industry is facing a raft of challenging and costly policies from Cardiff including the minimum 182 days for holiday lets and the proposed visitor levy.  We are deeply concerned that the Welsh tourism industry, far from being supported by the Welsh Government, is instead being pushed to the brink. 
​
The knock-on effects, particularly for areas that are reliant on tourism and hospitality employment, could be devastating.

This is disappointing news for Welsh tourism and jobs.

In Pembrokeshire over 20% of working people are employed in tourism and hospitality, so this closure won’t just impact the Park’s employees it will negatively affect the local economy as a whole.

A combination of Welsh Government and UK Government decisions including increased national insurance, council tax premiums, 182 day minimum occupancy for holiday lets and proposals for the Welsh visitor levy(tourist tax) risk seriously damaging the Welsh tourism and hospitality industry which contributes £3.8bn to the Welsh economy annually.

In a recent evidence session to the Senedd finance committee, Mark Drakeford MS denied that these policies would be having accumulative effect on the tourism industry. It is surely becoming obvious that a single sector cannot swallow so many changes without there being a cumulative - and wide-ranging – effect which will filter out to the whole economy.

Many parts of Wales are reliant on tourism and have limited alternative employment opportunities. This means that without jobs in tourism and hospitality local people may be forced to leave their communities in search of work.

We fear that this closure is just the tip of the iceberg for Welsh tourism.

The Wales Tourism Alliance (WTA) is deeply disappointed with many of the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Mark Drakeford’s, comments to the Welsh Government Finance Committee on the proposed Welsh Visitor Levy.   In particular we highlight the following:

Job Losses

Mr Drakeford claimed that the [tourism and hospitality] industry employs “a million” people and “would not struggle to accommodate” the several hundred job losses that are predicted in the industry if the Levy is implemented.  Mr Drakeford further claims that many of the jobs in the industry are seasonal, have “elastic” hours and are high-churn – suggesting that these job losses will be easier to absorb. 

In fact the number employed is around 159,000 (Welsh Government data) making the loss of “a few hundred jobs” far more significant.

It is also frustrating that Mr Drakeford apparently dismisses seasonal, part time jobs and completely ignores the fact that this provides many young people and those with caring roles (particularly women) with the flexibility to work, earn money and develop skills they might not otherwise enjoy.

Data

Mr Drakeford claimed that those speaking to the Finance Committee before him – including the WTA – had been selective over the data they had cited in their evidence, choosing to reflect on the worst-case scenario.

The WTA refutes that it has done this.  We have serious concerns about the data upon which the Visitor Levy modelling has been based and therefore the reliability of that data as a basis for legislation.  We are not alone in raising these concerns.  Even the author of the Welsh Government’s own Visitor Levy Economic Impact Assessment, Professor Calvin Jones, said in his evidence:


“We know very little about how the tourism economy in Wales works…we know very little about what drives visitors to come to Wales; we know almost nothing about how much they’re spending when they’re here…there isn’t even any data any more on…how much is spent on accommodation…it should be a very uncomfortable place for Senedd Members to be when they’re trying to make policy or audit policy on tourism.”


Children impacted by the Visitor Levy

In support of the inclusion of children in the Visitor Levy, Mr Drakeford said “Children buying sweets pay VAT.  Children are not excluded by virtue of being children from the taxation system”.  He has clearly forgotten that children’s clothes, shoes and books are all quite rightly zero VAT rated.  He is also ignoring the fact that many other countries exclude under 18s from their tourism taxes.

In fact, the Levy will disproportionately affect families and children because it is a per person tax.  That means that two adults staying in accommodation for a week will pay a levy of £21, but a family of six staying in the same accommodation for the same amount of time will pay £63.

The levy will also be paid by children staying on educational visits.


Cumulative effect of legislation on the tourism industry

Mr Drakeford dismissed the idea that the Visitor Levy would contribute to the cumulative effect of recent legislation on the tourism and hospitality stating that these are different issues and “do not collide on all of the sector”. 

The WTA disputes this.  Tourism is holistic and an impact on one part of the sector will inevitably impact on another.  There are already significant challenges across the board, particularly in self-catering accommodation which is being hit by the 182 day rule, National Insurance increases and the removal of furnished holiday let relief.  Small self-catering providers – often local people – are already pulling out of offering accommodation and this will inevitably have an impact on the whole sector.

Rowland Rees-Evans, Chair of the WTA said:

“We are disappointed that Mr Drakeford is apparently dismissing the valid concerns about the Visitor Levy proposals raised by industry experts and academics and that he is making claims that are factually incorrect.

"Many people in Wales are unaware that the Visitor Levy will be applied to anyone staying in “Visitor Accommodation” in Wales.  This includes children staying overnight even on educational visits and people working away from home – whether or not they already live in Wales.

“The bottom line is that the Visitor Levy proposals will cost people in Wales money and jobs – even in the best-case scenario painted by the Welsh Government.  Mr Drakeford seems happy to be pushing through a policy which is poorly conceptualised, does not guarantee Wales any income, and will result in hundreds of job losses in the tourism and hospitality sector – a sector which employs over 20% of working people in some parts of Wales.

“In the face of the evidence it is difficult to understand why the person responsible for managing the Welsh budget would even consider imposing a Visitor Levy on its people at this point in time.”

WTA Chair, Rowland Rees-Evans, today gave evidence to the Finance Committee in response to the Welsh Government's Visitor Levy Bill.

Watch the recording below or click on this link.

Read the transcript here.

The Wales Tourism Alliance has today submitted its response to the Welsh Government’s Visitor Levy Bill in papers to both the Finance and the Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committees.

In summary the WTA highlights the following issues:

• the Welsh Government’s own Explanatory Memorandum to the Bill and Economic Impact Assessment suggest that this policy will not cover its own costs of administration,
  
• the Bill extends well beyond tourism visits and includes, for example, stays of less than 31 days for work or education purposes,
  
• local authorities will have sole control of any net tax take and the Bill’s is drafted such that spend does not need to have a tourism-led focus,
  
• the data drawn on and assumptions made are unreliable to a concerning degree
  
• the research provided by the industry, including Wales own fora chairs, has not been given due weight
  
• no account has been taken of the additional pressures already exerted on Welsh tourism over the past five years.
  

WTA Chair, Rowland Rees-Evans said:

“The WTA has engaged with the Welsh Government since the Visitor Levy was proposed and we are disappointed that they are pursuing a proposal from which their own Economic Impact Assessment predicts net job losses.

“The tourism industry in Wales is already reeling from the impact of Covid, the 182 day rule on holiday lets and the cost of living crisis.  Alongside other businesses our industry has also have seen a 40% increase in the living wage since 2020 and faces increased national insurance contributions from this April.

“To place another stressor on an already fragile sector which employs over 20% of the workforce in some parts of Wales is not something we feel would be in the best interests of our country.

“We also want people to recognise that this is not a Tourist Tax – it is a Visitor Levy.  It will affect us all in Wales - from children on overnight school trips to people who have to stay in accommodation overnight before early morning NHS admissions.”


Links to our response:
Finance Committee
Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee

The Wales Tourism Alliance (WTA) has released its annual Industry Survey.
 
The findings indicate that many tourism businesses are being hit by recent changes in Welsh Government legislation with the self-catering sector particularly badly affected.
 
The report confirms claims from WTA members that the 182 day rule is having a negative impact beyond the tourism and hospitality sector.  Many professional holiday let owners say they are struggling at achieve the threshold of 182 let days per year which would push them into paying council tax, instead of business rates, on their property - often with an additional second home premium included.
 
Evidence gathered from the report, and other research, shows that many holiday let owners are local people who are no longer able to invest in local tradespeople to carry out improvement works on their properties.  One respondent said:
 
“There is no way we can risk paying local trades for ANY non0essential work – after 10 years of happily ploughing a large proportion of profits into the local economy paying for improvements to our cottage.”
 
The survey also showed that the weather and cost of living both had a significant impact on tourism and hospitality businesses over the 2024 holiday season, with a shift to more short last-minute breaks.
 
When asked what the Welsh Government could do for the sector, 64% of respondents said that there must to be a greater recognition of tourism as an economic driver. 
 
Chair of the WTA, Rowland Rees-Evans said:
 
“This survey, combined with other work the WTA and its members have done recently, shows that the tourism and hospitality sector is being hard-hit by a raft of Welsh Government policy including the 182 day rule, council tax premiums on “second homes” and Article 4 (in Gwynedd).
 
“We are asking the Welsh Government to recognise the significant burdens this is placing on local people who rely on this sector to earn a living and spend their money in the local economy.
 
“Tourism and hospitality contribute £3.8bn to the Welsh economy and employ more than 11% of people in Wales, rising to up to 20% in areas like Pembrokeshire and Ynys Môn where alternative employment is scarce.
 
“Whilst we recognise that many of these policies derive from the need to provide local homes for local people, it is evident that they are not having the desired outcome.   We are only just starting to see the bigger economic impact of consistently hitting a sector that is a significant driver of the Welsh economy.”

View the full report here.

High street estate agents from coastal and rural parts of Wales have told the Cabinet Secretary for Housing that the policy to free up properties as affordable homes is not working.
 
In a meeting with Jayne Bryant MS, agents representing West, Mid and North Wales explained that, while more properties were coming onto the market, hardly any were suitable as affordable homes for local people.
 
They confirmed that the buying and selling of the most expensive properties took place in its own ‘bubble’ with buyers coming from wealthier areas not put off by potentially high council tax premiums.
 
For the middle to higher price properties, these were being taken up by retirees coming into Wales, or people returning to an area, for use as primary residences as still being more affordable than similar properties in other parts of the UK.
 
Lower price properties tended to be in places too far away from facilities, too expensive to heat and maintain or had no gardens or parking, all of which making them unattractive to people looking for primary residences even if they were affordable.
 
Property agents from parts of Wales featuring honey pot destinations were invited to take part in a number of evidence-gathering sessions organised by Propertymark, the independent body for the property sector and the Wales Tourism Alliance, the body representing tourism providers of all kinds across Wales.  Those agents who participated were active in the local domestic sale and rental market, not the holiday let sector.
 
Suzy Davies, outgoing Chair of the WTA said:
 
“We have known for the last two years that professional holiday let businesses, often locally owned, have been caught up in the Welsh Government policies aimed at reducing the number of second homes in some specific parts of Wales.  This is despite the fact that the report which prompted these policies, commissioned by Welsh Government, acknowledged the importance of the tourism industry and distinguished between second homes and professional lets.
 
“Members told us that they were selling or thinking of selling their businesses because of the new, expensive taxes and other requirements being placed on them by Welsh Government, which were driving them to discount prices at the same time as rising costs and a drop in demand were affecting viability.   Solid, first-hand information from the Professional Association of Self-Caterers about how genuine business owners were being affected has already been shared with Welsh Government.
 
“Members also told us that their properties would add nothing to the stock of attractive affordable homes, even in areas where prices were falling.  We felt we needed to test this assertion before approaching the Cabinet Secretary for Housing by seeking evidence from the open housing market, entirely independently from holiday property representatives.  We were delighted that Propertymark agreed to co-produce this preliminary report.”
 
Tim Thomas of Propertymark said:
 
“Propertymark was delighted to work in partnership as an independent partner with the Welsh Tourism Alliance. We have been very active with both the Welsh Government and local authority consultations on measures to regulate holiday lets.
 
“We are supportive of the aims of the Welsh Government in ensuring that people can afford to buy or rent a home locally, to support local economies and the Welsh language. However, any measures must be proportionate and take consideration of any unintended consequences.
 
“The recommendations in the report have come from the insights of property agents during our research and we look forward to continuing to engage with the Welsh Government to assess the impact of their policies.”

You can read the report below.

A visitor levy for Wales | GOV.WALESA visitor levy for Wales | GOV.WALESStatement from Rowland Rees-Evans, Chair of the Wales Tourism Alliance.

The tourism and hospitality industry contributes billions of pounds annually to the Welsh economy and employs over 11% of the working population and the Wales Tourism Alliance does not believe that a Visitor Levy is the right solution for Wales. 
 
However, since it became clear that a Visitor Levy is a preferred policy for the Welsh Government. we have put a huge amount of work in to ensure that any proposals would both recognise the importance of tourism to Wales and be fit for purpose. 
 
We are disappointed that a number of the key points on which we felt we had reached an understanding with the Welsh Government have not been adequately reflected in the proposed policy. 
 
In particular we feel that the Welsh Government has missed a key opportunity to establish a registration scheme for self-catering accommodation that would have incorporated key health and safety criteria and assured visitors that their accommodation meets basic assurance standards.
 
What has been proposed will instead increase the costs for tourism and hospitality businesses, which will be passed on to our visitors, without any perceived “added value”. 
 
We are also disappointed that there is no clear commitment that the funding raised by the levy will be dedicated to improving the visitor experience in Wales.
 
This was the Welsh Government’s opportunity to deliver a gold standard in tourism and accommodation – setting Wales apart from the rest of the UK.  Instead it has merely made Wales more expensive without any perceived added-value for our visitors.


Link to the Welsh Government's Visitor Levy policy and strategy page: A visitor levy for Wales | GOV.WALES

ROWLAND REES-EVANS  has been appointed  as the new Chair of the Wales Tourism Alliance. 
 
Well known in tourism and farming circles, the former High Sheriff of Dyfed and county councillor takes over from Suzy Davies this month.
 
The Wales Tourism Alliance represents over 6000 businesses through its member organisations, across sectors and across Wales.  It both challenges and works with government for the benefit of the industry, and collaborates with other organisations on research and campaigns.
 
Rowland said:

"This appointment is an honour and a challenge that I am very much looking forward to. The WTA plays a major role within the tourism industry representing the main tourism representative bodies across Wales. I fully understand the precarious position the industry finds itself in at present and I along with the WTA board and members will strive to continue the excellent work that Suzy Davies, my predecessor, has done over the past three years.

“We will continue to work closely with governments at all levels to ensure we achieve those positive outcomes that the tourism industry here in Wales needs and deserves."
  
Suzy said: 
 
“I’m delighted to be able to hand over to such a well-respected advocate for tourism in Wales.  As the Chair of Mid Wales Tourism and through running his own well-established but innovative tourism & leisure business, Rowland  has first hand experience of the challenges facing the industry.  He also has the experience to navigate and negotiate with leading decision makers, as well as working in common cause with others to make the most of the opportunities for the industry and those who work in it
 
”That work needs to continue in earnest after such an intense period of external pressures and government  policy changes whose effects are now demonstrable”.