Tourism official calls for effort to make UK gov’t end passenger tax

(Jamaica Observer) ROSE HALL, St James — President and chief executive officer of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) David Scowsill has called for a concerted effort to persuade the United Kingdom to discontinue the Air Passenger Duty (APD) on travellers from that country to the Caribbean region.

“Now we will have to go to war,” Scowsill declared.

“This APD is a disease that will spread to other countries unless we stop it now. We have to find a different way to persuade the UK government on its view on the APD and this is going to require money, funds for the lobby organisations and one voice rather than independent voices that are shouting about the issue around the world.”

Essentially, the APD places countries in charging bands based on the distance of their capital cities from London. Therefore, flying from London to Los Angeles or Hawaii in the United States is calculated as being the same as to Washington, DC, the US capital, while destinations in the Caribbean are charged at a higher rate.

The APD was introduced by the British government in 1994. But since then, there have been several increases, the last of which was in April.

Jamaica, which depends heavily on tourism as a source of revenue, and other Caribbean islands have been lobbying the UK for a revision of the policy, arguing that it could reduce travel to the region.

“There has been much discussion around the UK’s Air Passenger Duty, which was increased again in April this year. Arguments and pleas by the industry have continued to fall on deaf ears,” Scowsill argued.

“The Caribbean industry has been at the forefront of the argument that the structure of APD leaves the region at a considerable competitive disadvantage compared to other destinations,” he noted.

But in spite of this, he said, the UK Treasury does not listen.

Scowsill, who was addressing tourism stakeholders at the opening ceremony of the Caribbean Tourism Summit and Outlook Seminar 2012 at the Ritz-Carlton Rose Hall in Montego Bay yesterday, said that it was now time for the global industry to speak with one voice and one message.

He argued that apart from hurting the Caribbean region’s tourism sector, it is “actually harming the UK economy as well”.

“In fact, more is lost in terms of GDP (gross domestic product) contribution than the treasury gathers in APD tax revenue. Our recent research shows that removal of APD would result in an additional 91,000 British jobs being created and £4.2 billion added to the economy in 12 months,” he stressed.

Scowsill urged the Caribbean tourism partners to join with the WTTC in the fight against the APD.

“We aim to work together with you to help provide solutions on which governments can take action. My commitment to you is that WTTC will unite the voices of our members with the inter-governmental agencies and organisations, and with those of the global industry and trade bodies. We will target our messages in a clear and unambiguous way,” he told the scores of delegates in attendance.

The conference ends today.