From Caribbean360

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, Monday June 17, 2013 – Caribbean diplomats in the United Kingdom are gearing up to lobby the British government for an ease in the airline passenger duty (APD), a tax which Caribbean countries say seriously affect their tourism industries.

Tourism and International Transport Minister Richard Sealy said the Caribbean diplomats have secured £40,000 (one British pound = US$1.57 cents) to assist them in this effort.

Sealy, who recently visited the United Kingdom to meet with stakeholders in the tourism industry, said the funds were sourced from a UK-based Jamaican Building Society to assist the High Commissioners in their fight.

He also said the APD Steering Group, of which Barbados’ High Commissioner was a member, was fully on board with the initiative.

“High Commissioner (Hugh) Arthur is fully engaged along with the High Commissioners from the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad, Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, St Lucia, among others, who are definitely keen and re-energised to engage the British Government. There will also be a £40,000 public campaign as part of the effort,” he added.

The APD, instituted in 1994, is a British environmental tax aimed at offsetting aviation’s carbon footprint. In its initial stage, it was set at £5 (US$7.85) per person.

Regional governments have been lobbying London to remove the tax, which they said negatively affects the growth of the tourism industry since the Caribbean has been placed in a band that makes travel to the region much more expensive than travelling from London to the United States.

Last year, a number of leading international airlines including British Airways, EasyJet, Ryanair and Virgin Atlantic urged Osborne to suspend the planned APD pending the outcome of an independent study of the economic effects of such a tax rise.

The airlines said that the eight percent increase introduced in April last year would reduce passenger numbers and hinder the UK’s economic recovery.

They said that as a result of the increase, a family of four flying from the UK to the Caribbean would have to pay close to £400 in taxes. In 2005 such a family would have paid a total of £80 in taxes.

Sealy also said it was “good to hear” that the region was “making noise” on the APD and its impact on travellers.

“We don’t expect the APD to go away but at the same time, we can’t just go silent on the issue and we have to enlist some more partners because this thing is much larger than a tourism issue,” he added.

While commending the High Commissioners for taking the lead in this effort, Sealy said that the West Indian and immigrant populations, who played an integral role in the development of the British economy, were affected by the APD.

“They (British Government) cannot just ignore the cries from these people that are performing a significant part of the lifeblood of their nation.

“It is important from a tourism point of view especially for Barbados, because (Britain) is our major source market, but it is also important for those many Barbadians and others who are living in that society who are affected want to come home to visit a sick relative or to attend a funeral.”

“I am not saying that the ticket should be tax free, but it (the taxes) should be within reach,” Sealy said.

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