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The Welsh Government will press ahead with plans to introduce a tourism tax in Wales, Finance and Local Government minister Rebecca Evans has announced.

The visitor levy would be a small charge paid by people staying overnight in commercially-let accommodation, such as hotels – with the money reinvested into local areas.

The policy is part of the Welsh Government’s Co-operation Agreement with Plaid Cymru.

A public consultation into the plans had more than 1,000 responses before it closed in December.

In a statement, Ms Evans said she recognised concerns raised by members of the tourism sector but said the Welsh Government was “committed to supporting businesses through current economic challenges”.

Ms Evans continued: “A common concern expressed by some of those responding to the consultation was that people would stop visiting Wales if a levy was introduced.

“Similar visitor levies are used in many countries around world to the benefit of local areas, which continue to see thriving visitor economies.

“We believe this success can be replicated in Wales and that local communities should be empowered to decide whether to implement a levy or not.”

Ms Evans said the levy, which would be overseen by local authorities, “puts power into the hands of local communities and gives them a tool to encourage sustainable, regenerative tourism”.

She added: “We know that tourism plays a vital role in supporting local economies but unbalanced, poorly supported tourism can also put pressure on local communities and undermine the high-quality experience we all want to offer our visitors.”

The proposals have drawn criticism from the Welsh Conservatives, whose shadow tourism minister, Tom Giffard MS, said: “Tourism supports one in seven jobs in Wales, enabling people to pay council tax, helping to tackle the issues that Labour claim a tourism tax would fix.

“The Labour Government should be working with the industry to boost this vital sector instead of taking a sledgehammer to crack a nut.”