The Welsh Tourism Alliance has said it is disappointed with the details laid out in Monday's announcement to introduce a tourist tax in Wales.

Visitors to Wales will have to pay up to an extra £1.25 a night to fund local services when a new ‘tourism tax’ comes into force.

The new Visitor Accommodation bill proposes giving local authorities the power to introduce a visitor levy - a small charge paid by people staying overnight in visitor accommodation.

The bill - introduced in the Senedd on Monday, 25 November - “will raise additional funds for local authorities to support the long-term sustainability of our tourism industry,” the Welsh Government said.

Confirming the introduction of the new Bill, Finance Secretary Mark Drakeford said the levy would be set at 75p per person per night for people staying in hostels and on campsite pitches, and at £1.25 per person per night for those staying in all other accommodation types.

Chair of the Wales Tourism Alliance, Llanrhystud businessman, Rowland Rees-Evans, said in response: "The tourism and hospitality industry contributes billions of pounds annually to the Welsh economy and employs over 11 per cent of the working population and the Wales Tourism Alliance does not believe that a Visitor Levy is the right solution for Wales.

"However, since it became clear that a Visitor Levy is a preferred policy for the Welsh Government. we have put a huge amount of work in to ensure that any proposals would both recognise the importance of tourism to Wales and be fit for purpose.

"We are disappointed that a number of the key points on which we felt we had reached an understanding with the Welsh Government have not been adequately reflected in the proposed policy.

"In particular we feel that the Welsh Government has missed a key opportunity to establish a registration scheme for self-catering accommodation that would have incorporated key health and safety criteria and assured visitors that their accommodation meets basic assurance standards.

"What has been proposed will instead increase the costs for tourism and hospitality businesses, which will be passed on to our visitors, without any perceived 'added value'.

"We are also disappointed that there is no clear commitment that the funding raised by the levy will be dedicated to improving the visitor experience in Wales. We had emphasised the need for tourism and hospitality businesses and representative bodies to be involved with the decision making process on how the levy would be spent, but see no commitment to this.

"This was the Welsh Government’s opportunity to deliver a gold standard in tourism and accommodation – setting Wales apart from the rest of the UK. Instead it has merely made Wales more expensive without any perceived added-value for our visitors."