, Finance Committee
Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Bill: Evidence session 3
So, that's why there's a difference in those outcomes. Right. Thank you. I think, Sam, you've got some final questions to ask.
, Finance Committee
Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Bill: Evidence session 3
Right. Thank you for that. You talked about GVA and some of those losses to the Welsh economy, and in your estimate it was £61.8 million if all Welsh businesses absorb the levy. What are the reasons for the fall in GVA being significantly more compared to the…
, Finance Committee
Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Bill: Evidence session 3
I'm just interested in some of the things that you were saying earlier about the differences between Spain or Catalonia, where you talked about somebody from, say, Germany going there or going somewhere else, compared to the marketplace or the industry here…
, Finance Committee
Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Bill: Evidence session 3
Okay, thank you. Sam.
, Finance Committee
Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Bill: Evidence session 3
Thank you for that. So, this is a fairly specific question, but the net annual economic impact of the spending on visitor levy revenue by local authorities and the losses in the visitor economy show an increase of £3.4 million and £1.9 million in the Welsh…
, Finance Committee
Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Bill: Evidence session 3
How were you able to model that specific aspect of the industry, because of the limitations you've talked about earlier on different parts of the model?
, Finance Committee
Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Bill: Evidence session 3
And you've noted that approximately 345 FTEs, which would be around 70 per cent of the total FTE losses potentially, would occur within accommodation and food services, based on your neutral scenario.
, Finance Committee
Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Bill: Evidence session 3
Not taking away from people who might lose out, with the same caveats as you had—I've been sympathetic to that—but just on a data point of view, then it is a comparatively small number compared to the job market in total. Is that correct?
, Finance Committee
Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Bill: Evidence session 3
Thank you for that, Mike. Just touching on that question, you were talking about the job losses, potentially, within the model, and the optimistic and pessimistic, and your optimistic model is, in your own words, possibly pessimistic-optimistic. So, even the…
, Finance Committee
Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Bill: Evidence session 3
Thank you.
, Finance Committee
Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Bill: Evidence session 3
Mike, before you carry on on that, just on that sort of way of thinking, you've said that you're looking at a more pessimistic model, just to make sure that anything above and beyond and better than that will be a benefit. Did you do any modelling at 50 per…
, Finance Committee
Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Bill: Evidence session 3
Thank you. I’ll bring Mike Hedges in that point.
, Finance Committee
Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Bill: Evidence session 3
Just a follow-up, before I come over to Mike, then: what would be the impact on the model if you had 100 per cent take-up, so that, basically, you made it mandatory across Wales, rather than optional?
, Finance Committee
Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Bill: Evidence session 3
Thank you very much, and one last question from me before I come to Mike Hedges. One of your assumptions in the analysis is that the visitor levy is applied equally across all Welsh local authorities. Could you outline the rationale for why you’ve done that…
, Finance Committee
Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Bill: Evidence session 3
[Inaudible.]—a sense that it follows the same—. It doesn’t take into account variations or proportionality between those aspects.
, Finance Committee
Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Bill: Evidence session 3
Thank you for that. You've talked a little bit there about data and that you struggle a little bit with data being up to date and the collection there. But you also mentioned that, in your input-output tables methodology, you can't estimate the changes in the…
, Finance Committee
Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Bill: Evidence session 3
Even with COVID in the middle?
, Finance Committee
Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Bill: Evidence session 3
You've noted—. I've noted that you've used data from 2019, which is, I think, in some instances, the most current data that you've got, unless you've then received any further, extra data that's more up to date, especially bearing in mind what happened in…
, Finance Committee
Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Bill: Evidence session 3
Thank you for making the time to come and give evidence this morning, and thank you very much for your written evidence and your report as well—very informative. I'd just like to look at a little bit of your methodology in coming up with your conclusions to…
, Finance Committee
Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Bill: Evidence session 3
The Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Bill, evidence session 3. So, we're joined by our next witness. I'd just like him to introduce himself for the record, please.
, Finance Committee
Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Bill: Evidence session 3
Welcome back now to session 3 of this inquiry.
, Finance Committee
Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Bill: Evidence session 2
Thank you very much.
, Finance Committee
Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Bill: Evidence session 2
Diolch yn fawr iawn. Thank you so much for this session—very helpful in putting context around your research, and thanks for the work that you've already done. It is valuable work. There will be a transcript available for you to check for accuracy on what…
, Finance Committee
Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Bill: Evidence session 2
Anything to add? And your final comment, I think, before we wrap up this session.
, Finance Committee
Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Bill: Evidence session 2
Anything to add?
