Scottish Highlands plots ‘campervan tax' amid huge rise in visitors
Campervan drivers face paying a tourist tax to drive through the Scottish Highlands because the roads 'cannot cope' with the number of visitors.
Tensions have risen in recent years between locals and campervan drivers following a surge in motorhome tourists, with accusations they are clogging up roads and illegally dumping waste.
The number of visitors to the Highlands has risen by 65pc since 2012 with nearly 36,000 campervans touring the region in 2022, according to the local council.
The increase is in part down to the construction of the North Coast 500, a scenic 500-mile route around the north coast dubbed 'Scotland's Route 66', which has attracted tourists from around the world and led to a rise in visitors renting campervans to complete the drive.
A study by Glasgow Caledonian University found the route, which was launched in 2015, has boosted the local economy by £22m a year, creating about 200 full-time jobs.
However, Labour and SNP politicians are calling for campervan drivers to pay a levy to visit the area with some suggesting the council install cameras to track the registration plates of drivers to make sure they pay.
Shaun Fraser, who is standing to be Labour MSP for Inverness and Nairn, said: '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.
'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.'
It comes after Highland Council introduced a voluntary scheme last year whereby campervan visitors could pay £40 for a seven-day pass to park in some of the local authority's car parks with daily access to showering facilities.
The initiative was shunned by tourists with the council forecast to raise £20,000 from the initiative in its first year despite setting a target of £500,000.
Emma Roddick, of the SNP, has called for campervan visitors to be included as part of a wider tourist tax being considered by the council.
The Highlands MSP said it was 'fair' that campervan drivers contributed to the 'preservation and maintenance of the areas they enjoy so much'.
Highlands Council is currently reviewing whether to impose a 5pc charge on overnight accommodation such as hotels, B&Bs and holiday lets that it suggests would raise £10m a year, increasing further if campervans were included.
The proposal has been met with fierce opposition from local business groups who fear the tax would put the area at a disadvantage to the rest of the UK and detract visitors.
If approved, the levy could come into force by the end of next year, the earliest permitted under legislation passed by the Scottish government last year.
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