Aviation taxes come under fire

Aviation taxes come under fire
By admin


The Tourism and Transport Forum has urged international tourism organisations to keep Australia "top of mind" when discussing departure taxes, as industry leaders called on governments to rethink excessive charges.

The UK's Airport Departure Tax (APD) bore the brunt of frustration during the two-day World Travel and Tourism Council Global Summit in Abu Dhabi.

VisitBritain boss Christopher Rodrigues told Travel Today that, despite good growth in visitation over the last year, the impact of the tax on tourism to the UK had been significantly felt.

His concerns were echoed by International Airlines Group chief executive, Willie Walsh who called for "fundamental change" in government attitudes.

Walsh referred to recent Price Waterhouse Coopers research which showed scrapping the tax would result in positive effects for the economy, and questioned its legitimacy.

"Not a single penny raised through passenger duty goes to the industry or environmental issues," he said.

But while the focus remained on APD, the TTF insisted Australia's Passenger Movement Charge is among the "worst offenders",  highlighting its impact as a $814 million reduction in spending by inbound visitors.

Pacific Asia Travel Association chief Martin Craigs agreed that , while "not a global story", PMC remains a concern.

"It doesnt look that bad globally on the long haul, but its a hell of a percentage on a flight to say Auckland," he said.

"We are now in an era when politicians will grab any lif raft to get a vote and stay afloat – they're just not thinking long-term."

Meanwhile, WTTC president and chief executive David Scowsill outlined plans to develop finance models "country by country" over the next 12 months to demonstrate the negative impact of "punitive" taxation on travel and tourism.

"This data will be used to show government leaders that taxing the tourist does not lead to positive economic growth – in fact, it leads to the opposite," he said.

 

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