Can I thank the Minister for his statement? Firstly, Minister, this policy of a licensing scheme was announced back in July, with the First Minister and the leader of Plaid Cymru announcing it to the press. We're now in November and it's the first time that the Chamber has had to hear in more detail about the scheme. Those in the industry have said that there's been considerable anxiety caused in the sector since that announcement, and the months' long delay between the announcement and this statement today has been unhelpful at best. So, do you accept that there has been a considerable delay and that the uncertainty has caused anxiety in the sector? And can you explain why this statement has taken so long to come to the Senedd? 

Moving on to the scheme itself, I'll perhaps start by surprising the Minister by saying that I don't actually think that a registration scheme for visitor accommodation in Wales is a bad idea in and of itself. A scheme such as this could enable the Welsh Government to follow data across the board, to see whether there are areas where supply doesn't meet demand, for example, and it could also be used as a means by the Government to promote tourism businesses across Wales, as well as, as you stated, Minister, for compliance purposes for existing requirements, as you mentioned. You also say, and I quite agree, that,

'A scheme would also give us enhanced intelligence—a comprehensive database, which is not currently available, of exactly who is operating in the industry.'

Again, I agree with that; that's something to be welcomed, particularly after the pandemic has highlighted the need for such a database to help target those who need assistance the most. So, can the Minister confirm how he intends on using this register, who will have access to it, and whether any of the financial costs needed for businesses to register will be met by the Welsh Government?

But, I'm afraid to say that the launch of the scheme today by the Welsh Government is clear—and you admitted this yourself, Minister—that it's being used as the precursor to implementation of a tourism tax. It's just the latest in a long line of policies announced by the Welsh Government since you became the economy Minister that attacks the industry and could serve to make the industry less viable against our competitors, because we know that where a tourism tax has been implemented abroad, it's been used with the intention of being a suppressant to tourism in a particular area rather than to enhance it. I want to see more tourism in Wales, and I'd hope that the Welsh Government takes the same view, but the Government's actions suggest the opposite.

The industry has always warned that registration/licencing lite would lose support if it was seen by the industry as a means of collecting a tourism tax, rather than a mechanism for capturing quality-conscious businesses and weeding out second homes offering ad-hoc casual lets.

You mentioned in your statement on several occasions that this policy will be focused on levelling the playing field. This may be the case within Wales, but in a global and competitive market, this does not put Wales on a level playing field compared to other nations. We know that, as you've said, this is a pre-emptive measure. This pre-emptive measure is a precursor to a tourism tax—a tax that wouldn't be in place in other parts of the UK. So, how on earth could that be considered levelling the playing field?

There's an attitude, I think, in Welsh Government, that they know best, particularly when the industry tells you something else—the evidence on the self-catering changes, and just 1 per cent of respondents supporting your proposals would be evidence of that. But what we're talking about here today is a serious crossroad in the future of the tourism industry here in Wales. In a recent poll, 73 per cent of holiday let owners in north Wales said that they might quit. And a Labour backbencher last week, in this Senedd, referred to people like that who are worried about the future of this industry as 'naysayers'. But surely you must accept that when three quarters of people in an industry say that they may have to quit, it's time for the Welsh Government to sit up and to listen. And Richard Bond, who's the owner of Finest Retreats, said,

'a combination of regulation and additional taxation would have wider implications for regions reliant on domestic tourism' and

'the potential detriment to local economies must not be overlooked'.

And then he went on to say:

'The only consistency is to seemingly punish the holiday lettings industry just when it needs wholehearted support to thrive'.

So, Minister, do you consider those comments, in addition to the thousands of others, to be the comments of a naysayer? Or do you think they are comments of an industry professional worried about the future of the tourism industry because of your anti-tourist policies?