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Thursday, July 12, 2012
Caribbean Community (Caricom) chairman, Dr Kenny Anthony, has written to the British Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, on the ?deleterious effect? the controversial United Kingdom Air Passenger Duty (APD) tax is continuing to have on Caribbean economies.
The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) said new research shows that removing the APD would result in an additional 91,000 British jobs being created and ?4.2 billion (US$6.5 billion) added to the economy within a year.
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 affect 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.
He said in 2010, tourist arrivals fell 19.4 per cent below the 2008 level and in 2011 registered 14.4 per cent less compared to 2008.
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