Brecon Beacons Tourism is asking all members — and all tourism businesses across Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons) — to respond to the Welsh Government’s current consultation on proposed changes to the 182-day letting requirement. This includes self-catering providers, farm diversifications, holiday accommodation, visitor attractions, activity providers, food and drink businesses, retail, and service-based suppliers who feel the wider impacts on visitor numbers.
This is a critical moment for our region.
The 182-day threshold remains unworkably high for many rural and seasonal areas, and its effects are being felt across the entire visitor economy. Whether you run accommodation or rely on the spend and footfall generated by overnight visitors, your voice matters.
We are grateful to MWT Cymru for sharing their guidance and draft response for members across Wales. They have a larger policy team working on this at pace, and we are aligned in our shared aim: securing a fair, evidence-based system that distinguishes between genuine tourism businesses and second homes.
Across rural Wales, around 40% of genuine self-catering businesses fail to meet the current 182-day threshold (VOA data). Many properties within Bannau Brycheiniog are:
farm diversifications,
purpose-built holiday units,
planning-restricted to holiday use only,
or same-hereditament conversions that cannot be lived in or sold separately.
These are not second homes. They are genuine small businesses that support the wider visitor economy: cafés, attractions, activity providers, cleaners, tradespeople, shops and suppliers. When occupancy falls, the ripple effects are felt across the sector.
This consultation is your chance to ensure those realities are understood.
MWT Cymru recommends that all businesses include this sentence early in their response:
“I formally object to the continuation of the 182-day policy in its current form.”
This ensures your response is counted as a formal objection, not a general comment.
You do not need to provide technical detail — MWT Cymru’s policy team has already done so. Your role is to describe your own experience clearly and constructively.
You can respond whether you are:
a self-catering operator,
a B&B or camping provider,
a farm business with diversification units,
or a non-accommodation business affected by the knock-on effects.
Question 7 is particularly important.
This section allows you to explain the wider impact on your business, community, and area.
You may wish to comment on:
seasonality and rural trading conditions,
impact on planning-restricted units or farm diversifications,
reduced visitor numbers affecting your business (even if you are not accommodation),
any financial or operational strain caused by the policy,
concerns about fairness and consistency across local authorities.
Personal, factual examples are powerful — you don’t need statistics unless you want to include them.
Submit your response online via the Welsh Government consultation page.
Deadline: 20 November 2025
Brecon Beacons Tourism encourages every business across Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons) — accommodation or otherwise — to complete this consultation. Our collective voice will help secure a practical, evidence-based approach that protects the region’s visitor economy, jobs and rural communities.
If you need further support, please contact us.
BBT response for Consultation .pdf
