Sam Rowlands, Member of the Welsh Parliament for North Wales, is backing a protest to raise awareness of the controversial new tourist tax.
He fears introducing the proposed visitor levy will seriously impact businesses in North East Wales and is supporting the Welsh Association of Visitor Attractions (WAVA) who are protesting on March 1, St David’s Day, with a number of attractions set to close for the day.
Last November the Welsh Government said they planned to introduce a levy of £1.25 per night for people staying in commercially-let overnight visitor accommodation from 2027.
Mr Rowlands, Chairman of the Cross-Party Group on Tourism, is totally against the tax and has continually expressed concern for the future of tourism in his region if it goes ahead.
He said: “The whole situation is becoming very serious and my heart goes out to anyone involved in the tourism industry in North Wales as it is not getting the support it should.
“The Welsh Government is quite clearly not interested in helping to promote and expand our tourist industry.
“First of all they introduced the crippling 182-day threshold for holiday lets, which will force many self-catering businesses to close, then came the disastrous 20mph default speed limit and now they have the tourism tax to look forward to.
“I think the action by the WAVA speaks for itself and just shows how worried businesses are in North Wales.
“It is a real shame that WAVA members believe the only way to highlight their growing concerns and to get their message across is to close their businesses on a day at the weekend.
“ I remain extremely concerned over this constant war on the tourism industry. It is high time they and everyone who works in this sector were supported by the Welsh Government.
“Tourism is big business in North Wales but the Welsh Government policies are seriously impacting the industry and I really do fear for the future.”
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