New tourist levy coming to Wales in 2027

Wales has passed a new law introducing a tourist tax from 2027, which will see visitors pay an extra £1.30 per night. According to the Welsh government, the revenue generated will be used to upgrade tourism infrastructure and support local communities.

Although first proposed in 2018, the Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) the Bill was only passed by the Senedd on 9 July 2025. It is expected to take another two years before the tax is enforced, as a consultation process with local communities must be completed before each council decides whether or not to apply the levy.

Once approved, any visitor aged 18 and over staying in hotels, B&Bs, hostels, and campsites will be asked to pay the tax. The amount, 5p higher than what was proposed in November 2023, will vary depending on the type of accommodation.

Guests of hostels and campsites will be charged 75p per night, while those staying in hotels and B&Bs will pay £1.30.

Finance Secretary Mark Drakeford defended the new levy, saying that similar laws have been passed with ‘success all over the world’.

‘By voting to back this measure, Wales is joining many other worldwide destinations which already benefit from similar levies. They ensure the pressures and opportunities tourism bring are balanced fairly between visitors and residents.’

He further stressed that ‘the levy is a small contribution that will make a big difference to our communities’.

Another avowed goal of the law in Wales is to save the Welsh language by creating more favourable conditions for it to thrive. The Welsh government hopes that the revenue generated by the levy, which is estimated at £38 million per year, will support efforts to increase the number of Welsh speakers to one million by 2050, although how exactly this will be achieved has yet to be defined.

Wales is not the first part of the UK to adopt such a measure. It is following Scotland, where new legislation passed at Holyrood in May 2024 gives local councils the power to impose a visitor levy. Edinburgh will pioneer this, introducing a 5% surcharge on overnight stays from 24 July 2026, applicable to hotels, B&Bs, hostels, self-catered accommodation, and campsites. Glasgow has approved a similar 5% tourist tax, set to take effect in January 2027, projected to generate about £16 million annually.

While English law currently prohibits cities from taxing visitors, Liverpool and Manchester have identified legal loopholes and introduced alternative visitor charges.

Tourist levies are becoming increasingly common around the world. France led the way with its ‘taxe de séjour’, introduced as early as 1910, and today more than 60 countries impose some form of tourist tax.

These measures are often more effective at raising revenue than deterring visitors. In Venice, for example, the €5 entrance fee to the historic centre generated €2.4 million in 2024, but has had little to no impact on the number of tourists.