Chairman John Finlayson stressed it was “ridiculous” that motorhome owners were not infield as part of the current tourist tax rules.
He said: “Campervans should pay a tourist tax and number plate recognition is the way forward given how they affect the day-to-day lives of locals.
“Absolutely we need to be charging campervans as the number of campervans coming this year, I believe it is almost double.
“You can’t drive from Kyleakin to Portree without every single space – whether it be a parking space or somebody’s gate entrance- having a campervan in it.”
Officials have been told how a whopping 3,000 motorhomes were found parked on the island over three months in 2023.
Despite the large numbers, none of these paid any fees in a potential loss of sizeable revenue.
John warned it should be up to “individual areas” to decide how they used tourist taxes which should not be controlled by the Scottish Government.
But, it’s not just the financial rewards councillors are considering with Mr Finlayson stressing motorhomes were causing problems for locals.
He highlighted they had a “massive” impact with homes the “size of a house” causing hassle.
In particular, he highlighted concerns over “nuisance parking” which had to be addressed.
He added: “If I was a businessman, that is the industry I would go into because every second vehicle on our roads is a campervan. The campervans now, well some of them are the size of a house.
“The impact they are having on the infrastructure in terms of the roads, the off-road parking and nuisance parking, it is massive.”
