- The Highland Council has proposed a £5-per-night tourist tax for hotels and B&Bs.
- Hostels and campsites would pay £2 per night under the draft plan.
- The tax would apply for nine months of the year excluding winter months.
- The council aims to raise up to £9.8 million annually for infrastructure.
- A public consultation on the proposal will be considered on August 25.
The Highland Council has proposed a new £5-a-night tourist tax to help fund local roads and tourist facilities. The draft plan moves away from a percentage charge and uses a flat fixed rate per room per night instead. The tax would apply at £5 per night for hotels, B&Bs, guest houses, and short-term lets, while hostels and campsites would pay £2 per night to keep low-cost stays affordable. The tax would apply for nine months of the year, excluding December, January, and February. Accommodation owners would keep 5% of the cash to cover their paperwork costs.
The Highlands welcome nearly 10 million visitors every year. Local leaders say this high number puts too much pressure on local roads, bins, and toilets. The council hopes to raise up to £9.8 million annually to look after the area. The money will be split into different sectors: 50% for roads, parking, and visitor infrastructure; 20% for culture, local heritage, and events; 15% for small community projects; and 15% for tourism jobs and skills development.
Councillors will meet at a special meeting on Tuesday, 25 August 2026, to review the draft proposal. They are not voting to start the tax yet. They are only voting on whether to launch a 12-week public consultation to ask residents and businesses for their thoughts. If the public consultation is approved and the scheme goes ahead, the tax will not launch immediately. Because of a mandatory 18-month implementation period, the earliest it would start is Summer 2028. Other Scottish cities like Edinburgh are already introducing their own 5% visitor levy starting in July 2026.
