Travel tax will hurt

BARBADOS will have "a lot to suffer" under a just-launched British travel tax increase, unless a call for its review brings the Caribbean some concessions.

Prime Minister David Thompson made this assessment yesterday, a day after the first part of the controversial hike took effect.

"I don't think people yet fully appreciate the impact of the tax. Everybody is so distracted by their economic challenges that sometimes they're not able to focus on these things, and the countries that would speak loudest about it are really not tourism destinations," he told reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"Barbados is one of the premier destinations for tourists in the Caribbean out of the United Kingdom, so we have a lot to suffer in the event that it is implemented."

The Air Passenger Duty (APD) from this month went from £40 to £50 in economy cabins and from £80 to £100 in premium class. From November 2010, it goes up again to £75 and £150, respectively.

It is widely regarded as unfairly penalising visitors to the Caribbean because it is based on the distance from London to the capital city of the destination, rather than the miles flown. For example, a passenger will pay less APD to fly to Hawaii than Barbados.

The House of Lords has called for a review of the increase of the duty hike on flights to the Caribbean.

Press reports quoted Lord Newby, for Liberal Democrats, as saying Britain had a strong historical link with Caribbean countries that were now "suffering considerably" from the global economic situation.

He suggested the government look at "not what is the precedent but at what makes sense" in determining tax levels.

Britain's City Minister Lord Myners has said that the effect on the Caribbean was still being considered but any exemptions "could raise questions about legality and potential distortions between comparable destinations".

Thompson said Barbados had been pressing for a change and "we are not going to stop".

He said other countries in the Caribbean needed to join the fight. (TY)