Highland Council’s 5% visitor levy could raise £10m a year

Frazer Coupland, chief executive of Lochaber Chamber of Commerce, said the idea of raising millions of pounds to invest in communities was “exciting”.

But he said businesses were concerned about how the charge would be collected and how fairly the funds raised would be dispersed.

Mr Coupland told BBC Radio’s Good Morning Scotland: “There is some anxiety around the consultation process.

“This is a massive geographic area and diverse amount of communities from city to rural and island.”

Mr Coupland said the consultation would need to address whether people travelling from rural areas for hospital appointments would be charged the visitor levy for their overnight stays.

According to Highland Council’s report, most patients travelling for medical treatment can apply to their NHS board for support in relation to accommodation and claim expenses.

Nagina Ishaq, general manager of the Loch Ness Centre in Drumnadrochit, said there were concerns the levy could impact on tourism businesses’ operation costs.

She said: “The levy must be carefully managed with clear transparency to ensure funds are reinvested directly into tourism infrastructure.

“It could generate substantial funds for improving tourism infrastructure and sustainability, which is much needed given the increasing footfall, but we must not put our popularity in jeopardy.”