Anglesey rejects visitor levy for now as Conwy and Gwynedd delay decisions

Anglesey has decided against introducing Wales’s visitor levy for now, while Conwy and Gwynedd have delayed their decisions. The three councils’ positions matter to accommodation businesses and visitors because the charge can apply only where a council chooses to adopt it. Tourism lecturer Dr Linda Osti says the national framework should allow more variation between destinations.

Anglesey and Conwy made their decisions on 24 September. Gwynedd has yet to decide whether to adopt the levy, according to its council report. Their decisions come as Cardiff prepares to apply the charge to qualifying overnight stays from 1 April 2027.

Why the councils paused

Anglesey’s full council voted against introducing a levy at present. The council cited economic pressures on tourism businesses and uncertainty about how a charge could affect visitor demand, business revenue and employment. Its assessment said any effects could vary with the responses of visitors and businesses, including whether nearby destinations introduce a levy.

More than 2,000 people and organisations responded to Anglesey’s consultation. The council said respondents raised concerns about visitor costs, the island’s competitiveness and administrative work for accommodation providers. Council leader Gary Pritchard said the evidence indicated that ‘now is not the right time’ to introduce the charge. The authority says it will monitor levies elsewhere and future policy changes.

Gwynedd is taking a different procedural step. Its council has postponed an adoption decision while it completes analysis of consultation responses and updates its assessment. A council report said the evidence had not been fully processed in time for a decision at its 24 September meeting. The reported 6,856 responses were gathered to identify potential impacts, the council said, rather than to serve as a representative vote.

Gwynedd’s initial figures showed greater opposition among business and visitor respondents than among residents. The council cautioned that people could identify with more than one respondent category and that analysis was unfinished. It has not established a new decision date or a timetable for any levy to begin.

What the Welsh levy would charge

The Welsh Government says each council decides whether to introduce the levy after consulting residents and local businesses. The current rates are 75p per person per night for tent pitches and shared hostel-style rooms, and £1.30 per person per night for other accommodation. Children under 18 are exempt from the lower rate. VAT applies to the total bill where a VAT-registered provider passes on the charge.

Accommodation providers pay the levy to the Welsh Revenue Authority and can either absorb the cost or pass it to guests. Councils can use proceeds for local tourism, nature and landmarks, and Welsh language and culture. A local partnership forum with tourism organisations advises on spending.

Cardiff has introduced the levy for qualifying new bookings, or changes adding nights or visitors to existing bookings, for stays from 1 April 2027. That timetable does not set a start date for the three north Wales councils. Anglesey has declined the charge for now, and Conwy and Gwynedd have deferred decisions.

The case for local variation

Osti, a senior tourism lecturer at Bangor University, told the BBC that one framework applied at county level does not reflect differences between destinations. She argued for decisions at a smaller geographic scale, citing differing visitor patterns and conditions within Gwynedd and between coastal areas and Cardiff. She also called for more flexibility over how a levy is introduced.

Osti contrasted Wales’s rules with emerging plans for English mayoral levies, which she said appeared to offer more choice on rates, exemptions and the number of nights charged. Her comparison does not establish the final rules of every English scheme. She said Cardiff’s short city stays made it a place where the Welsh approach could work well.

The debate also divides tourism businesses. Bethan Evans, who runs a caravan park in Gwynedd, told the BBC she supported a levy to help areas cope with busy roads, full car parks and visitor waste. Nicky Williamson of the Professional Association of Self-Caterers UK Cymru welcomed the councils’ pauses, arguing that another visitor cost would add to existing pressure on businesses.

The Welsh Government told the BBC that councils decide whether to adopt a levy after consulting their communities. It said Cardiff would reinvest revenue to improve the visitor experience. For Conwy and Gwynedd, the next step is further assessment before any decision on adoption; Anglesey says it will watch how levies operate elsewhere.