PLANS to give councils the power to introduce a "visitor levy" in Wales are being put before the public today.

The proposed levy would be a small charge paid by people staying overnight in accommodation in Wales.

Under the plans each local authority in Wales would have the power to introduce a levy and, according to the Welsh Government, the money raised will be re-invested in local areas to support tourism.

More than 40 countries and holiday destinations around the world have introduced a form of visitor levy, including Greece, France, Amsterdam, Barcelona, and California. The Welsh Government has said it intends any discretionary visitor levy for local authorities in Wales to represent a very small proportion of a visitor’s overall spend.

The extensive consultation seeks views on who should pay a levy, who would be charging and collecting the levy, how the levy could be best applied and how revenues from the tax could be allocated.

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The proposals have been controversial with the tourism industry in Wales with representatives from the industry calling for any such proposals to be scrapped as they feel it would hurt the country’s economy.

The plans would need to be approved by the Senedd, and it could be several years before they are introduced.

Rebecca Evans, Minister for Finance and Local Government, said: “These proposals are about preparing for the future. Our intention is to bring about a sense of shared responsibility between residents and visitors, to protect, and invest in, our local areas.

“By asking visitors – whether they have travelled from within Wales or from further afield – to make a small contribution towards maintaining and enhancing the place they are visiting, we will encourage a more sustainable approach for tourism.”

Cefin Campbell, the Mid Wales MS and Plaid Cymru's designated member on the project, said: “While Wales may be the first place in the UK to introduce such a levy, we do not believe it will be the last – as we have seen recently, a visitor levy may soon be introduced in Edinburgh so Wales is not alone.

“We want to continue to see a thriving tourism industry in Wales. It is vital we have sustainable, responsible tourism that works both for visitors and for the communities they are visiting."

The Welsh Conservatives criticised the move, calling it a "punitive measure the industry do not want or need".

Shadow Tourism Minister, Tom Giffard MS said: “This tourism tax could add a cost of £75 to a family holiday in Wales during a cost-of-living crisis.

“This policy will put livelihoods at risk as 1-in-7 jobs – 200,000 rely on the tourism industry. What’s more, there has been no guarantee that this tax would see any improvement to tourism offers in local communities, and the proceeds are instead likely to get sucked up into council coffers."