It’s nearing the end of the tourism season but Barmouth is still riding the crest of a wave. Popular for decades with visitors from the West Midlands, the town is still thriving even after a couple of patchy summers for weather , donkey ride trader Stephen Charles Staff explains. It’s his 38th summer on the seafront in the Gwynedd town which he loves.
“Barmouth is bustling, and has actually been thriving ever since lockdown,” the 62-year-old says. “We’ve had two pretty rubbish summers [for weather], but even so Barmouth has been tremendously busy. It’s a small seaside town but it’s very popular with a huge beach.
Even at this time of the year we’re getting plenty of retired folk visiting. Yesterday the place was packed.” Barmouth, which was named among the best places to live by the sea by the Sunday Times this summer, has relied on tourism for over a century.
The sector contributes more than £1bn to Gwynedd’s economy and employs thousands of people with millions visiting annually. But new legislation on second homes has been brought in in an attempt to redress the huge pressure on housing that the demand for second homes has caused, and it hasn’t gone down entirely well. READ MORE: 'Second home tax rules are driving people away from Tenby' as businesses complain of tough summer READ MORE: Second homes flood the market after Welsh council's punitive tax hike on owners Cabinet members at Cyngor Gwynedd - Gwynedd council - approved a proposal in July th.