A POPULAR holiday chain has ditched plans to open a new Wetherspoons pub at one of its sites.
Haven had planned to invest more than £3million to build a new Wetherspoons pub at a North Wales site.
According to a number of sources, the pub – which was set to be the largest of a number of pubs Haven is building at its parks – fell victim to the incoming tourism tax in Wales.
Plans for the JD Wetherspoon pub at the Presthaven holiday park were approved earlier this year by Flintshire County Council.
However, according to North Wales Live, a source stated that Haven is concerned that the tourism tax in Wales will cause more families to head to England than Wales.
Whilst Haven did not discuss the impact of the tourism tax, they did confirm they will not be moving ahead with the plans for Presthaven this winter.
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A Haven spokesman said: “Haven is always exploring potential opportunities to further develop our offering with a range of factors influencing which projects go ahead.
“This weekend we were excited to be able to announce that four new JD Wetherspoon pubs will be built this winter at our Hopton, Lakeland, Cala Gran and Riviere Sands parks.”
The Welsh tourist tax, which is also known as the Visitor Levy, is a local charge on overnight visitors.
And it is set to be introduced in April 2027.
Essentially, local councils will decide if they wish to add the tax to their area.
Currently, the proposed rates sit at £1.30 per person per night for accommodation like hotels and 75p for campsites and hostels.
Money raised from the Visitor Levy is set to be used for tourism-related improvements and local projects.
The Welsh Government finance secretary Mark Drakeford said: “The visitor levy represents a small contribution that will make a big difference by helping to maintain and enhance the very attractions that make Wales such a wonderful place to visit and to live.
“This historic legislation gives Wales the same tools used so successfully by destinations all over the world to balance the benefits and pressures of tourism between visitors and residents.”
Earlier in November, the holiday park brand announced that it would be opening four new JD Wetherspoon pubs in the UK in spring 2026.
These include new boozers at Cala Gran in Blackpool, Hopton in Norfolk, Lakeland in the Lake District and Riviere Sands in Cornwall.
Currently, there aren’t many details about the new pubs but Haven said that they will be “linked to the proud heritage of the local area our parks are located in”.
In addition, the new £9million pub project is part of a bigger £14million investment plan in Haven’s food and drink options across the parks.
And Haven is also splashing out £10million on a new water park at their Kent Coast site.
In other holiday park news, a UK holiday park operator has gone into administration affecting 11 resorts.
Plus, the price of holiday park breaks could DOUBLE thanks to new Budget ‘tourist tax’.