Labour council in major UK city plots to squeeze tourists with visitor tax | UK | News
Cardiff is set to become the first city in Wales to introduce a “Welsh Visitor Tax” affecting those spending the night in the capital. The Labour-led Welsh Government has approved plans to charge £1.30 per night at major tourist attractions under the official Visitor Accommodation (Wales) Act 2025.
The tax will apply to hotels, hostels, AirBnBs and holiday parks, while campers and hostel guests will pay 75p per night. Council leaders in Cardiff aim to be the first to introduce the tax and say it could bring in around £3.5 million a year in the Welsh capital. Visitors who will be exempt from the fee include children under 18 staying in campsites or shared rooms and people staying more than 31 consecutive nights in a single booking. Anyone with emergency or temporary accommodation arranged by the municipality will also be exempt.
It comes after leaders in Wrexham, home of Ryan Reynolds’ football team, moved away from the tax. The council’s economic leaders suggested the tax would be “detrimental” due to the arrival of visitors from America and Australia to Wrexham due to the success of the “Welcome to Wrexham” TV series about football teams.
Official figures show that since Welcome to Wrexham was first published, the north Wales city’s tourism income has increased by 20 per cent annually, and by almost 50 per cent in five years. But Cardiff Council officials insist the money will be used to “improve the visitor experience for everyone who comes to Cardiff”.
They say the revenue will be used to improve infrastructure, promote major events and support tourism-related businesses in the city.
Councilor Russell Goodway, Cardiff council’s cabinet member for investment and development, said: “The proposed visitor tax in Cardiff will be used to improve the visitor experience for everyone who comes to Cardiff by funding marketing campaigns or supporting a wider range of events in the city.
“We don’t just want people to enjoy their experience of coming to Cardiff, we also want people to stay longer, so we need to increase our offer through investment. “The proposed fee set out in the legislation is significantly lower than the typical fee across Europe.
“This initiative is clearly included in the council’s corporate plan and is being reviewed in detail by the Economy and Culture Scrutiny Committee, and its findings are being incorporated into our forward-looking proposals.”
Joshua Miles, chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses Wales, said: “The FSB has been and continues to be of the view that this is not the time to introduce a new tax on tourism in Wales and that there is a risk of harm to local economies by its implementation.
The small business sector has long faced difficult economic conditions. “While low consumer spending and disproportionately high costs are still affecting the viability of some tourism businesses, they still need support to recover.”
The 12-week public consultation will end shortly before the final proposal is submitted in March 2026. If approved, the plan will be implemented by April 2027.
