PARLIAMENTARY DEBATE
Tourism Levy: Jobs - 11 December 2024 (Commons/Commons Chamber)

The Welsh Government have introduced a Bill in the Senedd that will give local authorities in Wales the choice to introduce a levy on overnight stays in visitor accommodation. It will be for individual councils to decide whether they will introduce a small charge paid by people staying overnight in commercially let accommodation in Wales to help support a thriving tourism industry.

I thank the Secretary of State for her response, but has she assessed the regional impact of this levy? Although the impact can perhaps be levelled out and absorbed across the whole of Wales, some communities are clearly going to be hit harder than others. How will they be compensated for the impact?

More than 40 countries and holiday destinations around the world have introduced a form of visitor levy, including Greece, Amsterdam, Barcelona and California, and many of us have paid such levies abroad without noticing. The money will help to support a long-term thriving tourism industry in Wales. I am confident that the Welsh Government will work with businesses and tourists alike to get this right.

Does the Secretary of State agree that the successful introduction of similar schemes in places such as Manchester, and indeed in successful tourist destinations around the world, shows that the Conservatives should stop fear-mongering and support something that could really boost Welsh tourism?

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. As I said, such levies are already the norm in more than 40 countries and holiday destinations around the world. Manchester shows it can work, so why can Wales not show that?

Tourism is vital to the Welsh economy. However, Labour’s new tourism tax has merely created attraction closures and strikes, from the zoo in Ynys Môn to the cliff railway in Aberystwyth. The Welsh Government proposal will put more jobs in jeopardy, leave hotel rooms empty and simply send Welsh families across the border on to flights for their trips, treats and holidays. Does the Secretary of State really agree with her colleagues in Cardiff Bay that the potential price of 700 tourism jobs and the loss of tourism to Wales, together with £40 million of revenue, is worth paying?

I am afraid I do not recognise any of those figures from the hon. Lady. As I say, in Manchester, a similar scheme has been introduced; it has been highly successful and has raised £2.8 million in just one year. She should be more ambitious for Wales.