The Wales Tourism Alliance has stated that it is ‘deeply disappointed’ with many of the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Mark Drakeford’s, comments to the Welsh Government Finance Committee on the proposed Welsh visitor levy.

The Bill that will give local authorities the option to introduce a small visitor levy in their area was passed at the end of last year by the Welsh Labour Government.

Mr Drakeford recently claimed that the [tourism and hospitality] industry employs “a million” people and “would not struggle to accommodate” the several hundred job losses that are predicted in the industry if the Levy is implemented.

He further claims that many of the jobs in the industry are seasonal, have “elastic” hours and are high-churn – suggesting that these job losses will be easier to absorb.

The Wales Tourism Alliance has moved to highlight that the number employed across the tourism sector in Wales, is around 159,000 (Welsh Government data) making the loss of “a few hundred jobs” far more significant.

The organisation has stated that it is also ‘frustrating’ that Mr Drakeford has apparently dismissed seasonal, part time jobs and completely ignored the fact that this provides many young people and those with caring roles (particularly women) with the flexibility to work, earn money and develop skills they might not otherwise enjoy.

WTA states that Mr Drakeford is ignoring the fact that many other countries exclude under 18s from their tourism taxes; and that the levy will disproportionately affect families and children because it is a per person tax.

That means that two adults staying in accommodation for a week will pay a levy of £21, but a family of six staying in the same accommodation for the same amount of time will pay £63.

The levy will also be paid by children staying on educational visits.

Rowland Rees-Evans, Chair of the WTA said: “We are disappointed that Mr Drakeford is apparently dismissing the valid concerns about the Visitor Levy proposals raised by industry experts and academics and that he is making claims that are factually incorrect.

“Many people in Wales are unaware that the Visitor Levy will be applied to anyone staying in ‘Visitor Accommodation’ in Wales. This includes children staying overnight even on educational visits and people working away from home – whether or not they already live in Wales.

“The bottom line is that the Visitor Levy proposals will cost people in Wales money and jobs – even in the best-case scenario painted by the Welsh Government.

“Mr Drakeford seems happy to be pushing through a policy which is poorly conceptualised, does not guarantee Wales any income, and will result in hundreds of job losses in the tourism and hospitality sector – a sector which employs over 20% of working people in some parts of Wales.

“In the face of the evidence it is difficult to understand why the person responsible for managing the Welsh budget would even consider imposing a Visitor Levy on its people at this point in time,” he added.