SAM ROWLANDS, Member of the Welsh Parliament for North Wales, says Welsh Labour Government policies are seriously impacting the tourism industry.
Mr Rowlands, Chair of the Senedd Cross-Party Group on Tourism was speaking after visiting several tourism venues in the Wrexham area with members of the Professional Association of Self-Caterers, PASC.
Mr Rowlands and PASC have regularly criticised the Welsh Government for failing to support the tourism sector and introducing policies like the 182 holiday let rule and the upcoming visitor levy.
He said: “As most people know I was totally against both of these measures and fully support PASC who are now seeing the impact that the new holiday let rule is causing for their members.
“I was invited to join members of the organisation on a tour of several tourism venues including the award winning Iscoyd Park, on the Wrexham border, Rackery Café and Farm Shop in Llay and Stori Brymbo, in Brymbo.
“It was a very productive tour and it was sad to hear at first hand the challenges everyone is facing.
“There is no doubt that the 182 day let rule has affected self-catering accommodation owners. It is simply not sustainable for some people and is causing increasing concern.
“I have visited Iscoyd Park before and seen for myself the work that has gone into restoring this fantastic country house making it into a superb wedding venue.
“I was extremely impressed with Rackery Farm in Llay, which not only has an excellent Farm Shop and café it also now boasts a self-catering site and retreat, along with running a normal farming business.
“Stori Brymbo is a unique visitor attraction and an ambitious project which brings alive the story of Brymbo through the years. It is a brilliant way of making use of the remains of the former iron and steelworks to tell the story of its heritage and I was especially pleased to see how the community is a big part of the project.”
During his tour Mr Rowlands held discussions with stakeholders within the self-catering and tourism sector, staff and members of PASC and members of the Historic Houses and Travel Chapter who expressed concerns about the 182 day rule and visitor levy.
Mr Rowlands added: “It was quite clear to me that everyone within the tourist sector is working extremely hard to try and attracts more visitors to the area but they are being hampered by Welsh Labour Government policies.
“As a very keen supporter of encouraging more tourists to this lovely part of Wales I do think that they need to seriously review the 182 day rule and throw out the toxic tourist tax.”
