UK tourism minister John Penrose said the government was “trying to work out if we can reduce the impact of APD on passengers’ bills”.
Speaking at the UNWTO Ministers’ Summit, Penrose said: “I am trying to get some changes to it, but I don’t know if I’m going to get it.”
Responding to suggestions that APD was no longer a “green tax”, he added that, undoubtedly, it was a tax to plug “the budget gap it has to fill”, but said it also helped the government to be green.
Penrose added: “I’m not going to pretend that we’re not in need of extra revenue, but there is a green agenda behind this. We can’t talk about being sustainable and then ignore what is one of the fastest-growing emissions in the world.”
Meanwhile, the Caribbean Tourism Organisation presented a report to Penrose calling for the government to revert to two APD rates. It also suggested a rise in the tax on short-haul flights to allow a substantial cut in tax on long-haul routes.
The report details the case against the four-band system that the CTO believes penalises some long-haul destinations, particularly the Caribbean.
It argues short-haul routes account for more than 45% of carbon emissions by UK flights, but only 36% of the tax revenue to the Treasury – pointing out the previous UK government justified the APD rise as an environmental measure.
The CTO suggests a further £1 increase in APD on economy fares to £13, and a rebanding of long-haul destinations to a single rate of £60 in economy and £120 for premium economy and business class, would deliver at least the same total amount to the Treasury.
- More from World Travel Market at travelweekly.co.uk/wtm2010