Whether we like it in principle or not, the reality is that our broken nation needs a tourism tax as a matter of urgency. And right now, plans for such a visitors’ levy cleared the first hurdle in the Senedd, with the Welsh Government set to raise the rate to £1.30 per night per person.

If the bill completes its passage through the Welsh Parliament, £1.30 per person before VAT could be charged on overnight stays in hotels, B&Bs and self-catering accommodation.

A lower rate of 80p would apply to hostels and campsites, with the 22 Welsh councils given powers to decide whether to introduce a local levy from 2027 at the earliest.

An estimated £264m would be raised if all councils chose to introduce the levy in the decade to 2035, against total costs of £313m to £576m, according to an impact assessment.

The reality is that we are blessed to live in a region the more than doubles in population during the holiday weeks. Those crowds generate income for local businesses vital in keeping the doors open in the cold winter months.

But our local authorities are broke. Our transport system is dysfunctional. Our health and care services are unable to cope.

And given the inflationary pressures on our household budgets and the demand for higher taxes from our councils to fund care, services, education and policing, someone somewhere has to pay.

Better not it’s us; better the thousands of visitors who come to our region on holiday.

The reality is that visitor levies are common across the world. At least under the plan currently before the Senedd, the onus is on local authorities whether to charge or not to charge.

But which local authority in Wales is flush with cash? Who would dare pass up an opportunity to ease the burden on local taxpayers?

To those who say we are killing the goose that pays the golden egg, think again. The rates being proposed are less that the price of a coffee a day, less than an ice cream, less than a pop in a pub.

And we simply have no alternative.