Tuesday 24 May 2022 01:10 PM Great British Staycation boom is over, tourism chiefs say as numbers drop below ... trends now
The Great British Staycation boom is over due to the return of foreign holidays and the crippling cost of living crisis - as visitor numbers drop below pre-Covid levels, tourism chiefs have warned.
The Welsh Association of Visitor Attractions (WAVA), which represents more than 80 tourism businesses, said there had been a 'noticeable lull' in visitors across the sector.
Almost half of its members saw fewer tourists over the holiday period than they did in the pre-pandemic year of 2019.
They said increased running costs including food and energy prices were making it especially difficult for businesses and they now fear for their future.
The decline comes as hospitality chiefs, small businesses and tourism bosses have warned any new levy for foreign holidaymakers coming to Wales would 'decimate' the holiday industry.
Visitors to Wales may be forced to pay a tourism levy to stay in the country in the future, if a planned consultation which will be launched by the Labour-backed Welsh Government this autumn is approved.
Industry leaders warned the move could irreparably damage the country's tourism sector, with some saying a new charge could be seen as an 'anti-English' agenda.
The crude 6ft long banner - written in black paint on a white board - was held aloft by three people, in July 2020 over the A30 at Bodmin, one of the main roads into Cornwall
Pictured: Tourists flock to Fistral beach in Cornwall after the lockdown restrictions eased in August 2020
One person said north Wales attracts 'high quality visitors to whom a modest tourist tax is no problem'. (Pictured - Snowdonia National Park in north Wales)
