AN ABERYSTWYTH holiday park owner has warned that a ‘tourist tax’ being proposed for Wales could drive visitors away and put operators at a disadvantage to those in the rest of the UK.

The Welsh Government has announced that a tax on tourism is one of four new ideas suggested to form part of its new tax powers.

The Welsh Government said it will provide more detailed information when it considers which of the four ideas to look to put before the UK Government.

Thomas Scarrott, who is involved with a number of holiday parks, including Clarach Bay Holiday Village, warned it could have a detrimental impact on tourism across Wales.

He said: “With VAT at 20 per cent, Welsh tourist accommodation is already amongst the most highly taxed in the EU. The imposition of a tourist tax could further undermine the competitiveness of Welsh providers - losing business to their close competition in England as well as abroad.

“Numerous studies have demonstrated tourists’ deep resentment of the tax, particularly amongst younger customers with fraud by consumers in response being well documented.

“It would inevitably create an administrative burden on tourist accommodation providers, the majority of whom are micro and small businesses. Italy withdrew its tourist tax in the early 1990s when research showed that it cost more in terms of administration for its collection than it raised in tax revenue.

“A tourist tax would inevitably fall upon tourism accommodation business yet the benefits of tourism are spread across the economy - all retail, food and drink and leisure businesses benefit directly from the tourism economy, with indirect benefit to those businesses which supply them.

“It is illogical and unjust that tourist accommodation businesses should be singled out for increased taxation.”

Mr Scarrott said that new ways of finding tourist accommodation, such as Airbnb, would mean it would be difficult to implement a tax on accommodation.

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