Tourist tax in Wales

[willwander]

Tourism tax in Wales: Levy could apply to Welsh holidaying in Wales

People from Wales could be charged the levy, with it also applying to campsites under the plans.

www.bbc.co.uk

“The people who tend to make the most damage:….people who come on camper vans who don't even use a camp site, they drive in and bring their own food in”

Wales, once again, making everyone feel welcome.

 

[WelshGas]

Tourism tax in Wales: Levy could apply to Welsh holidaying in Wales

People from Wales could be charged the levy, with it also applying to campsites under the plans.

www.bbc.co.uk

“The people who tend to make the most damage:….people who come on camper vans who don't even use a camp site, they drive in and bring their own food in”

Wales, once again, making everyone feel welcome.

Not Wales, the Welsh Assembly with another power play to be " different ".

 

[Hedley Wright]

Surely this would encourage more off-site camping, causing more of the problems they are trying to counter?

 

[Elmo3]

Can you imagine how much money is wasted by these Welsh politicians simply debating all this guff. After no doubt huge administration costs, I’d be amazed if there was a net financial gain. Their salaries / pensions have got to be justified and paid somehow.

 

[Gary&Heather]

Sorry people it's just another form of tax.

 

[WelshGas]

Pathetic Comment by the usual.
Seeing as many Tourist Resorts and companies in the Hospitality Trade are against it, Yes, typical Welsh Assembly stunt to be different.

 

[Meoncoast]

Oh well at least the bridges are free to cross now!

 

[Ozzy Pete]

Can you imagine how much money is wasted by these Welsh politicians simply debating all this guff. After no doubt huge administration costs, I’d be amazed if there was a net financial gain. Their salaries / pensions have got to be justified and paid somehow.

Do you mean to say that “Guff” is not debated by English politicians? At the moment we are on a Spanish campsite near Tarragona where their council make a Tourist tax charge of 3%. A French campsite we were on in La Flèche charged 4%..This varies from area to area. Some make a charge others don’t. Many many councils in many countries make a charge for tourism. The money gets put back into the local communities. Nobody is forcing anyone visiting countries that make a charge for tourism. Does it deter me from visiting Spain or France because they make a 3% or 4% charge for tourism. No.
The British government make a charge if you fly internationally known as air passenger duty, does that deter people from going on holiday on a plane. Again No.

 

[bigmac77]

Tourism tax, 300% council tax for second home owners and every 30 mph speed limit becoming 20 mph. It's becoming ridiculous.

 

[Amarillo]

Tourism tax, 300% council tax for second home owners and every 30 mph speed limit becoming 20 mph. It's becoming ridiculous.

300% council tax for second home owners isn’t such a bad idea. It might bring more housing stock onto the market, and those who don’t sell up will have to pay for it.

My dad bought a second home in 1975. For years he only paid 50% council tax on it.

If the second home is for holiday lets it can be registered as a business and the owner pay business rates.

 

[pjm-84]

Dumb..... interesting to note the 300% for second homes. I would how this is viewed in light of probate.

 

[Hawthorn37]

A typical political, headline grabbing, ill-informed, bigoted, knee jerk reaction to an influx of visitors that one wet summer and more reliable flights to the Costa Brava will solve!

I’d love politicians to be held to account on every statement they make by providing hard data. There are many places we’ve been in the past 3 years that basically survive on people from campsites filling up their cafes, restaurants and pubs.

 

[The Tall Luthier]

Worth remembering that this is simply Proposal out for consultation!
With 9 million visits a year it’s worth considering, if the evidence presented doesn’t support it, I doubt they will go forward.

 

[Elmo3]

Do you mean to say that “Guff” is not debated by English politicians? At the moment we are on a Spanish campsite near Tarragona where their council make a Tourist tax charge of 3%. A French campsite we were on in La Flèche charged 4%..This varies from area to area. Some make a charge others don’t. Many many councils in many countries make a charge for tourism. The money gets put back into the local communities. Nobody is forcing anyone visiting countries that make a charge for tourism. Does it deter me from visiting Spain or France because they make a 3% or 4% charge for tourism. No.
The British government make a charge if you fly internationally known as air passenger duty, does that deter people from going on holiday on a plane. Again No.

Of course they all talk guff. The problem with Wales (in my experience of 15 years living there) is that the govt always find a way of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. It’s a beautiful country (well, much of it), reliant on tourism, yet they seem to want to discourage it. Simple things like parking, which is made difficult and expensive in many places. Where I live now, it’s free to park in the town. They want to encourage tourism and people to stop, wander around the shops, have some lunch, spend money.

It‘s not just Wales. I grew up in Cornwall where, let’s face it, many of the locals would ideally empty the wallets of emmets at the tamar and send them packing. I think it ultimately comes down to mindset. Some parts of the country embrace tourism and thrive, others reluctantly tolerate it and blame their problems on tourists.

 

[jonr71]

Tourism tax in Wales: Levy could apply to Welsh holidaying in Wales

People from Wales could be charged the levy, with it also applying to campsites under the plans.

www.bbc.co.uk

“The people who tend to make the most damage:….people who come on camper vans who don't even use a camp site, they drive in and bring their own food in”

Wales, once again, making everyone feel welcome.

Do all Welsh campervan owners buy their food once they have left Wales? Are all the campervans in non-campsite locations from outside Wales? What is the cost of campervans which do not use camp sites to the Welsh economy? Are all campervan owners who do not use a camp site always bringing all their food? Or is all this simply about looking like they are doing something when in fact they are just filling time or trying to find a justification for taxation?

 

[Amarillo]

Do all Welsh campervan owners buy their food once they have left Wales? Are all the campervans in non-campsite locations from outside Wales? What is the cost of campervans which do not use camp sites to the Welsh economy? Are all campervan owners who do not use a camp site always bringing all their food? Or is all this simply about looking like they are doing something when in fact they are just filling time or trying to find a justification for taxation?

Last time we went to Wales, July '22, we stopped at the Co-op in Llangollen to buy our food.

 

[ardm17]

Swipe before you go in, wipe before you come out ...

Fee of 30p to spend a penny as toilets get modernised payment system

CONTACTLESS payment facilities have been installed at Rhyl Town Hall, Rhyl Events Arena, Rhyl Children Village and Llangollen public toilets.

www.leaderlive.co.uk

 

[bob_summers]

Tourism tax, 300% council tax for second home owners and every 30 mph speed limit becoming 20 mph. It's becoming ridiculous.

What's not to like?
In my city at least, every AirBnB owner is paying tax to the district council. Think they're not passing that onto the guests?
As well as a council tax hike for summer home owners, I'd insist they pass a Welsh proficiency exam in order to be allowed to buy them

 

[Azteccamper]

All this is a bit of an over-reaction to one persons comment in a media article! It will go out to consultation and a decision made on the findings. Other European countries do it - I’ve just returned and paid it on every site in France - no big deal.
The Welsh Government say / do some odd things, but tbh we’ve met anti-campervan views throughout the UK and Europe at times, but the majority welcome us with open arms - even in Wales.

 

[willwander]

Swipe before you go in, wipe before you come out ...

Fee of 30p to spend a penny as toilets get modernised payment system

CONTACTLESS payment facilities have been installed at Rhyl Town Hall, Rhyl Events Arena, Rhyl Children Village and Llangollen public toilets.

www.leaderlive.co.uk

Here I sit broken-hearted, paid a penny, only farted.

 

[Amarillo]

Here I sit broken-hearted, paid a penny, only farted.

In France people are condemned to Euronate.

 

[vmaxkiddy]

Swipe before you go in, wipe before you come out ...

Fee of 30p to spend a penny as toilets get modernised payment system

CONTACTLESS payment facilities have been installed at Rhyl Town Hall, Rhyl Events Arena, Rhyl Children Village and Llangollen public toilets.

www.leaderlive.co.uk

40p In Skegness, no cash. It must be popular as the queues are enormous.

 

[Cali Phillip]

300% council tax for second home owners isn’t such a bad idea. It might bring more housing stock onto the market, and those who don’t sell up will have to pay for it.

My dad bought a second home in 1975. For years he only paid 50% council tax on it.

If the second home is for holiday lets it can be registered as a business and the owner pay business rates.

Short term lets (air bnb) and holiday homes are causing a huge shortage in long term lets in the highlands, theres legislation coming to limit numbers . Our university struggles to get professional staff as does the health service, people willing to take the job but cannot get accommodation. This is limiting growth of these organisations.
What long term lets there are have more than doubled in rent since we moved here.
The realty is someone has to pay for the impact of the extra load on services in the tourist season so a high council tax for unoccupied second homes,modest tourist tax and paying for toilets doesn't seem unreasonable.

 

[Bellcrew]

Short term lets (air bnb) and holiday homes are causing a huge shortage in long term lets in the highlands, theres legislation coming to limit numbers . Our university struggles to get professional staff as does the health service, people willing to take the job but cannot get accommodation. This is limiting growth of these organisations.
What long term lets there are have more than doubled in rent since we moved here.
The realty is someone has to pay for the impact of the extra load on services in the tourist season so a high council tax for unoccupied second homes,modest tourist tax and paying for toilets doesn't seem unreasonable.

Unfortunately this reality affects so many places, the unprecedented increase in population over the last 15 years is dramatically increasing demand and the sheer lack of supply will always result in these problems.
Many if not all local authorities will copy the Welsh example, literally money for nothing, eventually they will go to far and the golden geese will sadly stay away, probably.

 

[bob_summers]

the golden geese will sadly stay away

Like they stay away from Barcelona, Amsterdam, Munich, Lisbon, Baleares, etc? All places that have had tourist tax in place for years. In Barcelona it costs between 1 to 5€/day, max 10 days. The 5€ rate applies to eg 5-star hotels, so I doubt the clientele will struggle to afford it.