Three Welsh councils have shelved an overnight visitor levy after consultations found the businesses that would collect it against the charge.
The Isle of Anglesey County Council voted the levy down at a full council meeting on 24 September. Conwy County Borough Council deferred its decision the same day. Cyngor Gwynedd agreed to take a further report before it decides.
All three ran consultations on the same discretionary power under the Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Act 2025. Each council has kept the charge off its books.
Anglesey's numbers
Anglesey consulted from 15 May to 13 July 2026 and drew 2,098 responses. Two cohorts carried the story. Of 462 valid business responses, 384 opposed the levy, or 83.1 per cent. Of 764 valid visitor answers, 643 opposed it, or 84.2 per cent.
Residents split more evenly. Of 1,064 valid resident answers, 57.8 per cent opposed and 38.1 per cent supported. Across all 2,092 valid answers to the main question, 70.8 per cent opposed or leaned against.
The council records the exercise as self-selecting. Its report states that the figures describe the balance of views submitted and are not a population survey.
What the levy would have charged
Anglesey proposed two rates. Campsite pitches and shared rooms, hostels and dormitories included, would have carried 75p per person per night. Hotels and all other visitor accommodation would have carried £1.30 per person per night. VAT lifts those to 90p and £1.56.
The economic impact assessment put the take at upwards of £1.2m to £1.5m a year, excluding VAT and after Welsh Government administration costs. It estimated the levy at between 1.1 per cent and 2.3 per cent of the cost of a trip.
Seventeen accommodation providers at a council sector meeting listed the burden: booking systems, record keeping, exemptions, refunds, VAT, card charges, enforcement and extra staff time.
The trade reaction
UKHospitality Cymru has opposed the levy from the outset. Its executive director, David Chapman, said the councils had read the mood.
"Councils are clearly beginning to recognise the reality of this tax," Chapman said. "Their actions to ditch their holiday tax plans back the views of locals and visitors. 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."
UKHospitality chief executive Allen Simpson said the result should travel to Westminster. "It should come as no surprise to these councils that their residents, visitors and businesses don't want to be taxed more during a cost-of-living crisis," he said. "This level of public opposition should be a wake-up call to the UK Government and other councils."
UKHospitality 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 commissioned analysis.
The Professional Association of Self-Caterers welcomed the three decisions. North Wales Live reported that the body called them "a victory for common sense, evidence-led policymaking and Wales' visitor economy".
Where it stands
The levy is optional. The Act received Royal Assent on 18 September 2025 and gives each principal council the power to charge for overnight stays in its area.
Gwynedd drew 6,856 responses, more than the other two. Conwy logged about 1,300. Anglesey members also backed a recommendation that the chief executive, Dylan J. Williams, write to the Welsh Government with the Leader, seeking a review of the legislation.