Labour and SNP call for Scottish Highlands campervan tax saying roads cannot cope with soaring number of tourists from across the world

Daily Mail​

4 days ago

Figures from Labour and the SNP are calling for a Scottish Highlands tax on campervans in a bid to raise cash and help maintain the area, as it is warned the country's roads cannot cope with an influx of tourists.
The number of visitors to the Highlands has risen by 65 percent since 2012, and many of those visiting bring campervans as they tour the region.
Some 36,000 campervans visited the Highlands in 2022, according to the local council, with many encouraged by the development of the North Coast 500, a scenic 500-mile route dubbed 'Scotland's Route 66'.
A recent study by Glasgow Caledonian University found the 2015 project has boosted the local economy by £22 million a year, creating about 200 full-time jobs.
But tensions have been rising in the Highlands as the area increases in popularity, with complaints from locals that campervan drivers clog up the roads and leave rubbish behind.
Labour's Shaun Fraser, who will be standing as their candidate for Inverness and Nairn in the 2026 Scottish Parliament elections, told the Telegraph: 'Initiatives such as the North Coast 500 have transformed the dynamics of Highland tourism, with a huge rise in campervans using rural single–track highland roads. Our roads cannot cope with this. It is a mixed blessing.
The council already introduced a voluntary scheme for campervan drivers, who can now pay £40 for a week's pass which would give drivers access to local car parks and daily shower facilities
'Highland communities and local services must benefit from tourism. I support a fair and well-designed visitor levy and sensible measures to manage the impact of campervans.
'I would be open to looking at options attached to campervans, including number plate recognition to charge visiting campervans using highland roads. I think that this should be considered.'
Current MSP for the SNP, Emma Roddick, separately called for campervan users to be included in a wider tourist tax being considered by the council.
Highlands Council is currently deliberating whether to implement a five percent levy on overnight accommodation. It is said this could raise £10 million per year - and this figure could rise if campervans are included.
The council already introduced a voluntary scheme for campervan drivers, who can now pay £40 for a week's pass which would give drivers access to local car parks and daily shower facilities.
It is hoped the scheme will eventually raise £500,000.
Frustrated locals previously called for an overnight parking ban due to the quantity of touring campervans in the region.
Problems cited at the time included rubbish left behind, with the council's £40 scheme not providing waste disposal.