From November, people flying to the Caribbean from the UK will be required to pay an increase in Air Passenger Duty.
The planned increase is contained in the UK Finance Bill and will require Caribbean bound passengers to pay a minimum of 50 pounds Sterling per passenger for economy travel and double for any higher class of travel.
The fees are expected to increase again in 2010.
The proposal has the Caribbean tourism authorities in an uproar since they are likely to impact negatively on an already ailing industry.
“Pending changes to the UK Air Passenger Duty are expected to result in increased levels of duties applied to air tickets from the UK to all destinations. Of particular concern to us in the Caribbean are the high levels of duty to be applied to tickets to the Caribbean as well as the discrimination against the Caribbean region by illogically allocating it to a higher tax band than major competing destinations," said Enrique De Marchena Kaluche, president of the Caribbean Hotels and Tourism Association (CHTA).
The Advocacy Committee of the CHTA is spearheading a drive to intensify Caribbean lobbying in the United Kingdom to avert the planned increases.
A release from the association says Caribbean hoteliers, local hotel association executives and tourist office officials have begun lobbying Ministers of Tourism, Ministers of Aviation and even Prime Ministers to call for greater public debate; to share their concerns with the Ministers responsible; and to encourage governments to do more to lobby in the United Kingdom with Ministers and parliamentarians the Diaspora, airlines, tour operators and other interested parties.
At the same time, the hotel association executives from across the region are applauding the Dutch government’s recent decision to rescind a similar air tax instituted this year, noting that the impact of the tax was counterproductive.
Friday, April 24, 2009
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