Views to be sought on tourist tax in Highlands
Highland Council is to hold a consultation on how a tourist tax would work in the region.
MSPs passed a plan to introduce a visitor levy in Scotland in May.
It allows local authorities to add a charge to overnight accommodation such as hotels, B&Bs and holiday lets.
The Highland Council area gets more than six million visitors a year, including day visitors, overseas tourists and cruise passengers.
Money raised from the levy would go towards improving infrastructure such as roads.
The local authority plans to start the three-month consultation later this year.
It previously sought views in 2019 when it received 6,600 responses from residents, businesses and visitors.
Economy and infrastructure committee chairman Ken Gowans said tourism was one of the region's most important sectors.
"The upcoming consultation will give everyone the opportunity to put forward their views on how a levy scheme should operate and what the proceeds should be spent on," he said.
"We recognise that this consultation will only be one stage in the process and we will be building up on ongoing opportunities for representatives from across the region to feed in and shape how the levy can be delivered."
Under the proposals passed by MSPs:
The levy must be based on a percentage of the cost of an overnight stay in some types of accommodation, with the rate set by the local authority
Accommodation providers will be responsible for collecting the levy from overnight visitors
Money raised by the levy must be used to develop, support or sustain facilities and services used predominately by business and leisure visitors
Exemptions are given for certain groups, including people receiving disability benefits
Highland, Edinburgh and Aberdeen were among councils supportive of the idea of a tourist tax six years ago.
In August 2019, Highland Council calculated it could generate as much as £10m a year from a levy, and reinvest the money into improving infrastructure such as roads, car parks and public toilets.
In 2019 the Highland tourist numbers hit a peak of seven million visitors.
The Covid pandemic hit tourism, but there have been recent signs of recovery and in 2022 there were more than six million visitors to the area.
