A plea by more than 50 overseas tourist offices to Chancellor George Osborne not to further raise Air Passenger Duty has fallen on deaf ears.
Members of the Association of National Tourist Office and Representatives wrote to the chancellor on the eve of his autumn statement warning that plans for a double-inflation rise in APD “will create serious consequences” and will “hit the income that developing countries can receive from developing quality tourism”.
The 53 tourist offices sent a strongly-worded petition to the Chancellor calling on the government to reform APD. The tourist offices say the “onerous” tax will “be felt by the international destinations that the UK has close links with”.
Tourist offices, including those representing the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic and Egypt, also made individual representations to the Treasury.
ANTOR chairman Tracey Poggio urged the government to “consider APD in the round – looking at the wider impact of the tax on the UK economy but also on the impact that it has on deterring UK holiday-makers from travelling overseas”.
She said: “It is clear from our 53 tourist office members that the UK’s stringent APD is having a direct effect on many destinations.
“British passengers are being priced out of the skies. This is bad for British holidaymakers but we’re also seeing knock-on effects on many destinations where 1,000s of peoples’ livelihoods depend on British tourism.
“It is not an argument that is heard in Westminster, and we need to remind MPs that their decisions are having devastating effects on communities that are suffering from a downturn in outbound tourism from the UK.”
Tourist offices based in the UK are also suffering, added Poggio.
“The total annual revenue contribution to the UK taxpayer of tourist boards here in the UK is approaching £100 million. But they will have little choice but to defer their marketing efforts to other countries that offer growth prospects for the future.
“Many tourist boards are downsizing their offices in the UK, such as Mexico and Italy, or even starting to close them like Brazil and Lithuania. The affects of APD have to be contributing factors.”