Tourist Tax Cyngor Gwynedd

It is being reported that the volume of responses to the tourist tax consultation undertaken by Cyngor Gwynedd is such that a report cannot be legally prepared within the timescales set out by the council.

The consultation “was a consultation to identify the potential impacts of introducing a visitor levy in the county and to assist in reaching a decision," and not "whether respondents were 'for' or 'against'" the levy.

But the responses can be seen as a clear vote by the 6,856 who took time to reply, as can be seem from the below data.

• 48.7% of Gwynedd residents supported the visitor levy with 43.5% opposing it
• 14.7% of businesses supported it, while 79.5% had opposed
• 10.7% of visitors supported, with 79.9% opposed
• 22.7% combined visitors, residents and businesses supported it, and 68.5% opposed

Even residents were not overwhelmingly in favour, the net effect of the response is a delay. The council has to give 12 months' notice before imposing the levy, and had been aiming for October 2027. It is now at best 2028.