Tourist tax in Wales A complete guide

From 2027, councils in Wales can introduce a Visitor Levy on overnight stays to reinvest in local communities. For anyone offering accommodation or facilitating travel, the rules are clear and with Trippz compliance is effortless.

Is Wales planning to levy a tourist tax?

Yes. The Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Act 2025 gives every Welsh council the power to introduce a Visitor Levy on booked overnight stays. The earliest any council can start is 1 April 2027; after that, a levy can only begin on 1 April or 1 October in a given year, and the council must announce the start date 12 months in advance.

It is a flat fee per person per night, and it only applies in council areas that choose to introduce it. The Welsh Revenue Authority (WRA) collects and administers it on councils' behalf. Cardiff is the first council to confirm, starting 1 April 2027. Wherever a levy applies, UK law requires it to sit inside the total price a guest sees upfront. Read more about this here: tourist tax and the CMA pricing rules. 

For tourists

Why is Wales planning to levy tourist tax?

Wales’s visitor levy is designed to enhance every visit. The money raised goes directly into local communities funding public spaces, supporting cultural sites, improving visitor services, and promoting sustainable tourism. It helps keep Wales’s landscapes beautiful, its heritage alive, and its destinations welcoming for generations of travelers to come.

Which are the cities opted for Visitor's levy tourist tax in Wales?

Some councils, such as Vale of Glamorgan and Wrexham, have publicly stated that they do not intend to introduce the levy at this time. Other councils in Wales, however, have already shown clear interest in implementing the Visitor Levy (tourist tax):

• Cardiff: Full Council approved the levy on 26 March 2026. It starts 1 April 2027. If you take bookings for overnight stays in Cardiff, bookings made on or after 28 September 2026 for stays from 1 April 2027 onwards are within scope, so you need to be ready before that date.
  
• Anglesey
  
• Gwynedd 

• Development of tourist tax in Wales

  A council must consult locally before deciding, and must then give 12 months' notice of the start date. A levy can only begin on 1 April or 1 October. In practice this means the register of participating areas will build up gradually from April 2027 onwards, and you will always have at least a year's warning for your own area.

Rate of the tourist tax in Wales

In Wales, you’re considered a visitor if you stay overnight in paid accommodation, no matter where you’re from. The visitor levy is a simple, flat fee charged per person, per night for guests aged 18 and over, on hotels, B&Bs, hostels, and short-term lets. The rate is fixed and doesn’t depend on the price of the stay, so every eligible guest pays the same clear amount. The levy applies where the local council has opted only in participating counties/cities.

Accommodation type	Tourist tax rate
Hotels, B&Bs, Guesthouses,	£1.30
Self-catering, Short-term lets	£1.30
Hostels, Campsites	£0.75

Under 18s: Exempt in hostels and campsites. 

Always apply up-to-date rates?

Tourist tax in Wales

Wales has a national visitor levy law, but each local authority decides whether to introduce it and at what rate. Cardiff has confirmed a levy from 2027, while others, like Gwynedd, Anglesey and Conwy, are still deciding.

• Cardiff
• Gwynedd
• Isle of Anglesey (Ynys Môn)
• Conwoy

How Trippz can help you

Showing the visitor levy in your price

Wales charges its visitor levy as a flat amount per person per night from 2027, £1.30 for hotels, B&Bs, guesthouses, self-catering and short-term lets, and £0.75 for hostels and campsites, in the councils that opt in. A fixed amount per guest invites a separate line on the bill, and that is where the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 becomes relevant. Partitioned pricing, where individual charges are listed separately without a clear total shown upfront, falls under the same prohibition as drip pricing.

Because the levy depends on how many guests aged 18 and over are on the booking, occupancy and accommodation type have to be resolved before the price appears rather than at checkout. Wales starts in 2027, which leaves time to build the levy into the pricing layer while the scheme is still being set up. The scale of the penalties gives that timeline weight: the CMA can fine up to 10% of global annual turnover, or £300,000 where that figure is higher, without going to court first. Our post the CMA's pricing rules for travel: what has to be in the total price sets out what the total price has to include.

Frequently asked questions from tourists

• Do I have to pay the tourist tax in Wales?

  Yes. If you’re staying overnight in Wales in hotels, guesthouses, B&Bs, campsites, hostels, or renting short-term lets (including Airbnb), you will need to pay the visitor accommodation levy if your destination council has introduced it. The charge is typically added to your bill and helps support local tourism infrastructure and community services.

• How much is the tourist tax in Wales?

  The visitor levy is £1.30 per person, per night for most paid accommodation (such as hotels, B&Bs, or short-term rentals), and £0.75 per night for campsites and hostels. These rates are set nationally. Under-18s are exempt on campsites, hostels, and outdoor centres, but not in hotels and B&Bs. The charge is capped at 31 nights in the same accommodation within a year

• Is the tourist tax included in my booking price?

  It depends. Some accommodations may include the levy in the up-front booking price, while others might list it separately on your bill at check-in or checkout. Always check with your accommodation provider or host for clarity on how the levy is shown

• Why is Wales charging a tourist tax?

  Wales’ visitor levy is designed to raise vital funding for local communities, helping to maintain attractions, pay for tourism-related services, and invest in infrastructure like footpaths, beaches, and public toilets. The tax ensures that the cost of tourism is shared more fairly between visitors and local residents and supports the sustainability of Welsh destinations for the future.

• Are children exempt from the tourist tax in Wales?

  Children under 18 are exempt from the levy when staying at campsites, hostels, and outdoor centres. However, children are not exempt when staying at hotels, B&Bs, or self-catering accommodation, unless further changes are introduced by the Welsh Government. Always check with your host or council for the latest exemption rules

For hosts

Guest registration in Wales

Registering your accommodation with the WRA

Registration of visitor accommodation with the Welsh Revenue Authority becomes mandatory across the whole of Wales, whether or not your council introduces a levy. Registration opens in October 2026 and closes in spring 2027. You will need to provide your contact details and information about the property, such as its address and number of bedspaces. You must be registered before you can file and pay any Visitor Levy.

Keeping guest and booking records

There is no national law in Wales requiring you to record personal guest details. But once a levy applies in your area, you are legally required to keep booking records showing, for every booking: how many visitors were booked to stay and how many nights they were booked for. You must also keep records of the stays you did not pay levy on — bookings of 32 nights or more, under-18s on tent pitches or in shared dormitories, and council temporary housing.

Note that the levy is based on the number of people the booking was made for. You do not need to track daily changes in visitor numbers during a stay.

How Trippz can help you

Handling of Tourist tax

• Remittance of tourist tax

  The levy is filed and paid to the Welsh Revenue Authority (WRA), which administers it nationally on behalf of local councils — not to your council directly. How often you file depends on how much levy you expect to owe in a year:

  • £1,000 or less per year — you may file annually (accounting period ends 31 March, file and pay by 31 May) or opt to file quarterly.
  • More than £1,000 per year — you must file quarterly. You have 60 days after each period ends, so deadlines are 29 August, 29 November, 1 March (29 February in a leap year) and 30 May.

  Late filing or payment can result in a penalty, which you can ask the WRA to review or appeal.

   

• Keeping your administration for the tourist tax

  To remain compliant with Welsh regulations, keep clear records of the levy you collect from your guests. This means tracking the number of nights booked, the amounts collected, and keeping supporting documents such as invoices or payment receipts. Store these records securely for several years, as local authorities may request them for inspection. Good record-keeping also makes your returns and future audits easy and stress-free. Keeping a guest register further substantiates your tax records.

• Tourist tax when renting through an online booking platform

  If you rent your property in Wales through platforms like Airbnb or Booking.com, you are still responsible for ensuring the visitor levy is correctly accounted for and paid to the WRA . Even if the platform processes bookings or payments, the responsibility for compliance and remittance remains with you as the host. Clearly mention the visitor levy in your listing details and verify how each platform handles tax collection, so your guests have clarity and you remain compliant.

• Renting out in Wales

  When renting out your property in Wales, you must comply with the new national registration scheme for visitor accommodation and follow any local licensing or safety requirements. Registration will be mandatory before you can legally accept bookings, and you are also responsible for collecting and remitting the visitor levy for every eligible booking. Always check with your local council and the Welsh Government’s guidance to ensure you are up to date with registration, compliance, and visitor levy obligations before hosting guests.

Frequently asked questions from hosts

• Do I need to charge the visitor levy to all my guests?

  Almost all of them. Under the Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Act 2025, the levy is due on booked overnight stays in your accommodation once your council has started the levy — for tourists, business travellers and Welsh residents alike, regardless of nationality. It applies to hotels, guesthouses, B&Bs, hostels, self-catering lets, caravan and camping pitches, and glamping.

  Note that you, not your guest, are the taxpayer. You are liable for the levy even if you choose to pass the cost on to your guests.

• How do I remit the visitor levy I collect?

  You file and pay the levy to the Welsh Revenue Authority (WRA) through their online service, not to your local council. You can file annually if you expect to owe £1,000 or less in a year, otherwise quarterly, with 60 days after each period to file and pay. Your accommodation must be registered with the WRA before you can file.

• Do I need to charge the visitor levy if I’m renting through Airbnb or Booking.com?

  Yes, you are still responsible for charging and collecting the visitor levy even when using platforms like Airbnb or Booking.com. Always check whether the platform includes the levy in the price or if you need to add it separately. Ultimately, compliance rests with you as the host.

• Is there a maximum income for short-term rentals before I have to charge VAT?

  If your total rental income exceeds the UK VAT threshold (currently £90,000 per year for most businesses), you must register for VAT and apply the appropriate VAT rate to your accommodation charges. For up-to-date thresholds and instructions, refer to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) or consult your accountant.

Trippz: the authority on tourist tax

Tourist tax is set locally and rates change without warning. Trippz tracks every change and keeps the data current, which is why travel platforms and property software, including Airbnb, Booking.com and Expedia, rely on Trippz to calculate tourist tax and register guests in every market they serve.

How Trippz stays current

Trippz checks tax rules jurisdiction by jurisdiction against official municipal and national sources. When a rate or rule changes, the update happens automatically rather than on a periodic review cycle. This is the same monitoring that travel platforms and software vendors depend on to stay accurate everywhere they operate.

One tax engine, every market

Send a location, get the applicable rate, instantly and correctly calculated. Travel platforms and property software embed this calculation directly into their own product, so every booking is taxed correctly without building or maintaining a rate engine in house. It is the same logic behind every rate on this page.

Explore Trippz for Platforms

Frequently asked questions about Trippz

• How can platforms and software vendors use Trippz?

  Trippz provides tourist tax content and a ready made calculation engine through one API. Platforms and software vendors add accurate tax calculation to their product without maintaining a rate database in house. Guest registration and authority connections are available as a separate capability for those who need it.

• How does Trippz keep tourist tax rates current?

  Trippz checks the jurisdictions it covers against official sources and updates rates automatically when a city or country changes them.

  
  

• Which countries and cities does Trippz cover?

  Trippz maintains tourist tax data across a wide range of countries and cities. See the full overview in our tourist tax guides.

• Is Trippz's data and infrastructure secure?

  Yes. Trippz is SOC1 Type 2 and SOC2 Type 2 certified and GDPR compliant, so platforms and software vendors can embed tourist tax calculation without adding security or compliance risk of their own.

• Who uses Trippz for tourist tax?

  Trippz provides tourist tax data and calculation to travel platforms and property software across Europe, including Airbnb, Booking.com and Expedia. The same infrastructure that powers stays booked through the biggest platforms in travel is available to any platform or software vendor through the API.