TAXING

BLOW TO

TOURISM

by JULIA BENTHAM-RAWLINS

THIS ISLAND'S TOURISM SECTOR, already under pressure by the world economic crisis, could be facing another serious external challenge.

It's in the form of a new air passenger departure tax to be imposed by the British government from November 1.

However, local tourism officials have indicated that they are prepared to lobby to have the tax reconsidered.

President of the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) Wayne Capaldi said yesterday that the tax was likely to cause undue hardships for Barbados' tourism industry and indeed that in the wider Caribbean.

When the tax is implemented in November, airport departure tax on flights to the Caribbean will increase by between 25 and 87 per cent depending on the class of travel.

According to the plans, a family of four travelling to the Caribbean in premium economy in 2010 will pay £600 in Air Passenger Duty alone.

"That is a lot of money," said Capaldi, adding it would put Barbados at a disadvantage. Barbados gets a significant number of its visitors from Britain.

Speaking during a telephone interview, Capaldi said the situation would not only affect British visitors but passengers in transit from Paris. They would again be required to pay the tax as they journeyed from Barbados to Gatwick and then onto Paris.

"We are very concerned about the impact," he said.

Capaldi said Prime Minister David Thompson had already written the relevant authorities protesting the tax's implementation.

The BHTA president gave the assurance that Government was not asleep on the situation.