Clwyd West MS and Shadow Minister for North Wales, Darren Millar, has once again highlighted the devastating impact the Welsh Government’s proposed tourism levy would have on the tourism industry in the region.

Intervening in yesterday’s Welsh Conservative Debate on Tourism, Darren said introducing a charge for visitors to stay overnight in Wales will merely force people to holiday in areas where there isn’t a tourism tax.

He said:

“I think the big issue and the big challenge we've got is that we know that the most lucrative type of tourism is the tourists who stay overnight and they spend more in our economy.

“What you're seeking to do is actually tax those particular tourists who want to come and stay overnight, who will spend more; it will give them less to spend in our economy.

“You also fail to recognise that large parts of Wales are competing with other parts of the UK that do not have a tourism tax. many people who holiday in North Wales have a choice of whether to come to Snowdonia, whether to come to parts of North Wales or go over to the Lake District for example. 

“If there's a price-sensitive issue - and there are for many families; we know that, through the cost-of-living challenges -then people will simply go elsewhere. That will be bad for the economy, be bad for jobs, and bad for families in Wales. Don't you accept that?”

Speaking after the meeting, he added;

“Tourism is the bread and butter of our local economy in North Wales and a tourism tax could devastate communities and make regeneration efforts in Colwyn Bay, Rhyl and Llandudno even more difficult. It could have a crippling effect on caravan parks, hotels and other businesses which rely on visitors to make ends meet.

“So much hard work has gone into trying to regenerate our towns along the North Wales coast and this tax on tourists could put all that in jeopardy.  

“We should be doing all we can to attract tourists to this beautiful part of the country, not discouraging them by making family holidays more expensive.”