Three Welsh principal councils declined to adopt an overnight visitor levy in September 2026, closing the first round of local consultation under a statute in force since 2025. The power remains available to every authority in Wales, and no authority has a charge in force.
The Isle of Anglesey County Council voted against the levy at its full council meeting on 24 September 2026. Conwy County Borough Council deferred a decision the same day. Cyngor Gwynedd accepted a consultation report and agreed to consider a further one before deciding.
The statutory power
The Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 18 September 2025. The Act establishes a register of visitor accommodation providers in Wales and grants principal councils the power to introduce a levy on overnight stays in their areas.
The power is discretionary. Each council decides whether to levy after consulting residents, businesses and visitors and assessing the impact. A council that proceeds must give the Welsh Revenue Authority 12 months of notice, and notice windows fall before 1 April and 1 October each year.
The consultation record
Anglesey consulted from 15 May to 13 July 2026 and received 2,098 responses. Of 2,092 valid answers to the main question, 1,482, or 70.8 per cent, opposed or tended to oppose. A further 525, or 25.1 per cent, supported or tended to support, and 85, or 4.1 per cent, were neutral or unsure.
The council reports the exercise as self-selecting. It states that the figures describe submitted views rather than a population-weighted result.
Three cohorts carry the detail. Businesses returned 462 valid answers, of which 384, or 83.1 per cent, opposed and 56, or 12.1 per cent, supported. Visitors returned 764 valid answers, of which 643, or 84.2 per cent, opposed and 89, or 11.6 per cent, supported. Residents returned 1,064 valid answers, of which 615, or 57.8 per cent, opposed and 405, or 38.1 per cent, supported.
Governance drew the widest agreement: 1,890 respondents rated clear governance important or very important.
The rate card and the revenue model
The economic impact assessment set two rates. Campsite pitches and shared rooms, hostels and dormitories included, would carry 75p per person per night. Hotels and every other form of visitor accommodation would carry £1.30 per person per night. VAT raises those to 90p and £1.56.
The assessment estimated revenue at upwards of £1.2m to £1.5m a year for the island, excluding VAT and after Welsh Government administration costs. It placed the levy at between 1.1 per cent and 2.3 per cent of the cost of a trip.
Accommodation providers set out the operating cost. A sector meeting attended by 17 providers identified booking systems, record keeping, exemptions, refunds, VAT, card charges, enforcement and additional staff time.
The other two authorities
Conwy consulted from 20 May to 17 July 2026. Its report recommended deferring a decision until more evidence is available. The council cited concerns over the limited availability of robust data, the economic impact, competitiveness, reduced bookings, shorter stays, reduced visitor spend and the timing of any charge. The Economy and Place Overview Scrutiny Committee endorsed the recommendation on 9 September 2026. Full Council approved it on 24 September.
Gwynedd consulted from 20 May to 26 July 2026 and received 6,856 responses. Its report recorded legal advice that a decision could not proceed in September 2026 because not all responses had been analysed and presented. The council agreed to receive a complete report before deciding.
The operator position
UKHospitality Cymru has opposed the levy since it was proposed. Its executive director, David Chapman, said the three decisions backed the views of locals and visitors, and urged other councils to read the outcome.
"I hope all other Welsh councils look at what has happened in Anglesey, Conwy and Gwynedd and decide it is not worth the pain, politically or economically, to pursue a holiday tax," Chapman said.
UKHospitality chief executive Allen Simpson framed the result as a signal to the UK Government, which plans to hand mayors and local leaders comparable powers in England.
"This level of public opposition should be a wake-up call to the UK Government and other councils," Simpson said.
The trade body commissioned Oxford Economics to model a holiday tax in England. That analysis puts 33,000 jobs at risk and the cost to families and holidaymakers at £1.6bn. UKHospitality records the figures as its own advocacy work.
The terms UKHospitality Cymru has pressed for in its Senedd submissions on the legislation are consistent across the three consultations. The body wants levy spending ring-fenced to tourism, a displacement principle to stop the revenue replacing existing council spending, exemptions for children and a national framework to hold the rate consistent.
What the councils asked for
Anglesey members backed a recommendation that the chief executive, Dylan J. Williams, in consultation with the Leader, write to the Welsh Government seeking a review of the legislation to address the issues raised in the consultation.
Cardiff remains the candidate to go first. The BBC reported that the city could introduce the levy at £1.30 per person per night for most accommodation and 75p for campsites and shared rooms, with an estimated £3.5m a year.