Businesses and residents will be invited to consider a possible visitor levy in the area, a council committee has decided.

Argyll and Bute Council will set up a short-life working group to consider a tax on overnight stays under the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Bill.

They will present their findings in November ahead of a public consultation being launched.

Funds from the levy would be reinvested in services and facilities that could be used by tourists and business visitors, said the local authority.

Levies are already in place for cities such as Berlin and Amsterdam.

Council Leader Jim Lynch said: “Our tourism sector plays a key role in sustaining and developing Argyll and Bute’s economy and our leisure and business visitors are a vital part of the area’s future success.

“Alongside the ongoing investment which we are already making in our tourism industry, a visitor levy could see further funding directed into our local services and I would urge people across the region to deliver their views when the consultation is launched.”

Any levy plan would require consultation, said the council, and it would take 18 months before launch to make sure businesses and the local authority were ready.

The earliest a levy could be in force is autumn 2026.

There would be exemptions from the levy for those receiving disability benefits, and Scottish ministers could cap the number of nights to which a levy would apply.