FURIOUS residents say their idyllic seaside area is being ruined by a ridiculous tax and it's scaring tourists away.
Locals living in Pembrokeshire, Wales, are livid after the Welsh Government have started thinking about introducing a visitor levy.
As part of a "wave of punitive legislation", it will see holidaymakers contribute towards the cost of maintaining and investing in the areas they stay in.
While 58 per cent of homeowners in the area agreed at a public consultation that tourists should pay their way, many think it will destroy the influx over the summer months.
And TV presenter Griff Rhys Jones, who also owns a holiday let business in the coastal town, said it would ruin everyone who's companies rely on visitors.
Writing in the MailOnline he said: "If the tourist tax goes to five quid a day and it costs a family of four an extra £140-a-week, punters might well think ‘let’s try Scotland’ or Yorkshire or anywhere this will not apply.
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"They don’t have to come to Wales. You think a fiver is unlikely? Well, parking once cost sixpence.
"It’s extraordinary and sad. The most glorious part of the UK missed out in favour of places like the Cheddar Gorge."
Griff argued if the tourist tax was to come into force, all of the beaches would be "completely deserted".
He said without tourism in Wales, jobs and livelihoods will be hit hard.
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The comedian explained one person in 10 in the country works in the industry with Pembrokeshire being one in five.
He added: "Tourism in Wales needs incentives, not punishments.
"Places like Pembrokeshire suffers from global lovely-place competition and are hampered by poor communications and under-investment.
"First Minister Mark Drakeford needs to recognise this and give a helping hand."
It comes after homeowners in a picturesque seaside town fear they're being forced out by an influx of "hipsters" who have helped double property prices.
"Trendy" incomers from London are being blamed for threatening to wreck Westgate-on-Sea on the Kent coast.
Average house prices have soared from £150,000 to £328,000 over the past year, according to property search firm Zoopla.
And locals say an exodus of people from the capital – accelerated by the Covid pandemic – is responsible.
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