A tourism tax in Wales moved a step closer this week with the levy included in a cooperation agreement between the Labour run Welsh Government and Plaid Cymru.
The Government were already due to consult on the new tax but now it looks like the levy will be introduced - with the results of the consultation deciding how it will be implemented.
It has been proposed that any tourism tax powers would lie with local authorities to make any final decision on whether they want to use them.
Jim Jones, the chief executive of North Wales Tourism, warned jobs and firms were at risk.
He said: “Tourism is a vital part of our economy and supports tens of thousands of jobs.
“It makes no sense to put so many businesses and livelihoods on the line at such an intensely difficult time for the tourism and hospitality sector.
“The inclusion of a potential tourism tax in the strategy outlined as part of the Welsh Government’s new partnership with Plaid Cymru is clearly ill-conceived and particularly damaging given the current circumstances. It was tried in 2017 and was unpopular then as it is now.
“If only they would listen to the sector, then they wouldn’t be mooting this again. It’s simply the wrong time to be even discussing Tourism Tax .
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“We have spoken to hundreds of businesses who are deeply opposed to it. The sector is already heavily overtaxed and just down the line we have the uncertainty about whether VAT will return at the 20% as well as business rates. On top of all this, loans taken during the pandemic have to be repaid.
“I am still waiting patiently for something positive to be said about the tourism and hospitality sector In Wales , as there doesn’t appear to be any strategy or any positive policies from Welsh Government to help the recovery of one of the biggest contributors to the Welsh economy.
“Local authorities already receive millions of pounds of compensation by Welsh Government to deal with the influx of visitors via the enhanced population grant - the greater the number of visitor, the more money they receive, I think we need to establish where this money is spent first.”
A tourism tax has been used in several European tourism hotspots with the Balearic Islands raising more than 200m Euros between 2017 and 2019 for eco-projects on the islands - but Spain also has reduced VAT rates for the tourism and hospitality sectors.
There are fears extra costs for visitors could put Wales at a serious disadvantage to other parts of the 海角视频 like Cornwall and the Lake District.
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But global holiday rental giant Airbnb says they support plans for tourist tax in Wales.
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They said: "We support plans for a tourist tax in Wales and welcome the opportunity to work with Welsh leaders to make it a success, as we have done already by helping generate nearly £2.5 billion in tourist tax revenue in approximately 30,000 jurisdictions around the world.”
They added: "We look forward to working with the Welsh Government on the details of the proposals and sharing our experience of signing more than 1,000 regulatory and tax agreements globally."