Tourist Taxes Coming to Wales

On July 8th, 2025, Wales proposed that holidaymakers will pay a ‘tourist tax’. This new law was agreed by the Welsh Parliament. The new law is that people have to pay up to £1.30 per night, also added to their stay cost.

Many officials say that applying this law would help Wales say that they could make £33 million a year, which could support and help tourist places or destinations. But some officials say that they worry that charging more might make visitors move out of the country.

The Welsh Parliament voted on July 7th to allow local councils to determine the implementation. It would be introduced the earliest in 2027. Every one of the 22 main councils will decide if they want to introduce the new law or not for their part of Wales.

Under the plans, each person staying in hostels or campsites will pay £75 per night, while other accommodations, which are like hotels, would pay more , and children in campsites and hostels would not get an extra fee. Some cities in Wales have dismissed this rule out such as Newport, while some cities have not like Cardiff.

Tourist taxes are actually not something new at all. Many countries, including Belgium, France, and Japan, have already been thinking about this idea or doing it. Wales’ finance secretary, Mark Dartford, said, “We believe it is reasonable for visitors to contribute towards infrastructure and services integral to their experience, as they do in so many other parts of the world.” Which implies his favoring of this proposed tax. Some people don’t agree with him, such as Mr Rowlands, who said, “We believe it is bad for Wales and bad for the Welsh tourism sector, which forms such an important part of the Welsh economy.” This shows some people don’t agree and could ruin things for Wales. Some of the negative impacts are ruining things like jobs and the economy in Wales.

Overall, some people think that adding tourist taxes would help, but some don’t agree with some disadvantages.