By David Jessop From Voice

Caribbean island puts incentive in place to encourage tourism in wake of Air Passenger Duty (APD) rise

In what must be a first for any country in the world – and the clearest indication yet of how much Air Passenger Duty (APD) is hurting Caribbean nations that depend heavily on British tourists – Barbados is planning to introduce a scheme to ‘refund’ visitors.

It is part of a string of initiatives announced by the Barbados government to revive the tourism industry in an attempt to stimulate its struggling economy.

In doing so, its minister of tourism and international transport, Richard Sealy, and finance minister Chris Sinckler, introduced a 10-point tourism and hospitality plan that is intended to encourage partnerships to build new hotels and reopen properties that have closed.

Other measures include tax incentives to hoteliers to increase energy and water efficiency and the creation of a marketing strategy that will promote the island as sustainable, green and clean energy destination.

But in what is believed to the be the first move of its kind in the Caribbean or elsewhere in the world, the two ministers also announced an initiative which will partner Government and the tourism and hospitality sector.

They will grant credit vouchers up to a specified amount in Barbados Dollars, equivalent to the APD paid by British tourists who book a trip to the island for at least two weeks with participating hotels.

Speaking subsequently about the decision, the island’s tourism minister indicated that it was one of several voucher ideas that he hoped would create immediate results.

It responded, he said, to local hoteliers’ concerns that APD was having a negative impact on arrivals from the UK and on the amount visitors spent on the island.

Although it is not yet known how the scheme will operate, it has been welcomed by the Barbados Hotels and Tourism Association and could have a significant impact as in April of this year, the tax rose to £83 per person on an economy class flight to the Caribbean and is much higher on other classes of travel.

For Barbados, and other eastern Caribbean islands, the UK remains the main tourism source market, with UK arrivals in Barbados’ case down by nearly 10 per cent last year.

Meanwhile it has become apparent that the British Treasury has no plans to review the tax unless government ministers or the opposition parties see an opportunity for political advantage in doing so before or during the campaign before the next general election, expected in May 2015.

What this points to is that in the coming months the most effective actions will most likely not be those undertaken by Caribbean governments, but the direct lobbying of MPs by groups in the Caribbean community, especially in marginal seats.

It is also likely to be pressure, particularly by black members of the Labour Party to determine exactly what the party will include in its manifesto commitments to the Caribbean Diaspora in the UK and whether this will include APD.

Caribbean High Commis-sioners in the UK are also planning a renewed lobby against the tax. While this will be important, it is unlikely to have as much impact as the voice of Britain’s black voters whose ability to travel has been directly affected by the tax.

David Jessop is the managing director of the Caribbean Council

PHOTO: The Parliament Building in Bridgetown (PA)

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http://www.voice-online.co.uk/article/barbados-‘money-back’-scheme-combat-rise-travel-tax