Council officials have backed a visitor levy for Argyll and Bute – but councillors have urged that it be kept simple.
The authority’s draft response to the Scottish Government’s proposed Visitor Levy (Scotland) Bill was put before elected councillors last week.
It would see a levy imposed on overnight stays in certain types of accommodation, with the authority’s leader saying it could generate millions of pounds in revenue for the area.
But the council’s depute leader urged that any surcharge should be a flat rate, rather than a percentage, to keep things straightforward for accommodation owners.
The issue was discussed by the council’s environment, development and infrastructure committee on Thursday.
The council’s draft response said: “Argyll and Bute Council is in favour of applying a visitor levy in order to mitigate the adverse effects of increased tourism traffic throughout our council area.
“Funds gathered can be used to supplement local budgets to create a more enjoyable visitor experience and support local communities.
“The council is the most appropriate and best-placed organisation to implement and collect a visitor levy across the whole of the council area.”
The council’s depute leader said the response was good and got to the heart of the issue.
But he added: “I think we want to keep this as simple as possible, and a percentage levy to me, straight away, is complicated.
“It is one or two Euros, or dollars, per night in other places, so I think we need to keep this is simple as possible for the visitors – but also for businesses and officers who have some degree of responsibility.
“I suppose one concern is – and I can see the reasons for doing this, from a visitor perspective – having different levies in different authority areas could be a bit of an issue as people go around Scotland.
“In terms of payment, and whether it is a percentage or a flat rate, I think we are right to get the maximum flexibility for this, so that it can suit our communities and businesses.
“What might be right in Edinburgh in the middle of the Fringe may not be right for some of our rural communities.”
Fergus Murray, the council’s head of economic growth, said: “We are looking at some collaboration with the Highland region, so that we get some consistency and the right flexibility at local level.”
Council leader Robin Currie added: “If this comes into being, it will not be up and running until 2026. It would have been a good way of closing our budget gap next year.
“I think I am right in saying that this has the potential of making £6m or £7m to this council through the visitor levy?
“What about day trippers, for example – the thousands of people who go to Iona for the day and back again? Is that even thought of?”
Mr Murray responded: “All of that has been discussed in a number of different areas and I have no doubt councillors will be informed of any conclusions from these discussions.”
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