Welsh businessmen warn that Wales's 20mph speed limit and proposed tourist tax harm tourism. Photo / Getty Images
Welsh businessmen warn that Wales's 20mph speed limit and proposed tourist tax harm tourism. Photo / Getty Images
Wales’ 20mph (32km/h) speed limit is putting people off visiting the country and damaging its tourism sector, a leading Welsh businessman has warned.
Stephen Davies, the chief executive of Welsh whisky brand Penderyn, accused the Welsh Government of making the country less appealing to visit with measures such as speedrestrictions for motorists and plans to tax tourists.
He said: “The Welsh Government is not doing a very good job for tourism or for companies like ours.
“It may not be said explicitly, but we’ve got 20 miles per hour speed limits and we’ve got tourism taxes [coming] which will apply to adults and children – I feel that a lot of that messaging basically says we don’t want you here now as a nation.”
Founded in 2000, Penderyn was the first company to distil whisky in Wales in roughly 100 years. As well as making whisky, it runs three visitor centres at its distilleries, which welcome up to 100,000 tourists per year.
Davies’ comments follow a decision by the Welsh Government to impose a blanket speed limit of 20mph on most Welsh roads in 2023.
It proved fiercely controversial and led to accusations that the ruling Welsh Labour Party was waging a “war on motorists”. A petition against the policy gained a record number of signatures at just under half a million people.
Tourist tax looms
To make matters worse, Davies said the Welsh Government plans to allow local councils to implement a tourist tax of £1.30 per night ($3) for each visitor in most kinds of accommodation and a 75p ($1.73) charge for hostels and campsites.
Officials have said the tax, due to come into force in 2027, could raise £33m ($69.1m) a year to be invested back into improving tourism.
However, Davies argued they come at a time when tourists are already cutting back because of the high cost of living.
He said: “On visitor numbers, we are 20% to 25% down. I talk to other tourist attractions in Wales, and they report something very similar.”
He argued the charge would have a more significant impact on families and those on lower incomes who are planning to visit Wales.
Wales' approach to tourism is harder on families, low-income individuals, and businessmen. Photo / 123RF
Davies said: “If you’re a family and you come for a week, and you’re two adults and three children, and you’ve got to pay… I think the messaging that gets out there is that Wales is determined to drive tourists away because we’re going to tax them.”
Larger companies, meanwhile, have warned they could divert investment out of Wales and into England as a result of the levy.
A senior executive at a major hospitality firm said: “Our customers are very price sensitive. More taxes in Wales will put people off going there, and that has consequences for our business.
“We’re already looking at our capital spending plans and moving projects from Wales to England. If county councils rapidly rule out a tax, then we’ll stick with Wales – we like Wales and so do our customers.
“But where there is uncertainty, we’re not going to commit millions of pounds when we have no idea if tourists will go on holiday somewhere else when faced with higher prices.”
A spokesman for the Welsh Government said: “Visitor levies are used successfully around the world, benefiting local communities, tourists and businesses, where visitor economies continue to thrive.”
Sign up to Herald Premium Editor’s Picks, delivered straight to your inbox every Friday. Editor-in-Chief Murray Kirkness picks the week’s best features, interviews and investigations. Sign up for Herald Premium here.
