Nevis, West Indies. ?A Non-Tourist-Trap? Blog About Nevis.

Unfair Tax Burden On Caribbean Tourists

Basseterre, St. Kitts – Nevis
March 31, 2012 (CUOPM)

St. Kitts and Nevis’ Minister of Tourism, Sen. Hon. Richard Skerritt and other Caribbean tourism officials continue rejecting the decision of the British Government of increasing, starting Sunday, a tax to British holidaymakers.

Last week, the administration of the United Kingdom confirmed that the Air Passenger Duty (APD) will rise by 8 per cent as of April 1, despite several criticisms of the initiative.

“This measure will affect the economy of our area,” noted Skerritt, who is also Chairman of the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO).

“The APD has contributed to the decrease in British tourists visiting our country and also the members of the Caribbean community in the United Kingdom have reduced their trips to the region,” pointed out Skerritt.

According to Secretary General of the Caribbean Association of Hotels and Tourism, Alec Sanguinetti, nearly 1,373,600 tourists from the United Kingdom visited the region in 2007, while in 2010, that number dropped to 1,103,400.

Recent statistics from the British Airways which flies from London-Gatwick on Tuesdays and Saturdays, brought in 8,329 passengers in 2011, compared to 7,822, an increase of 6.48 percent or 507 more passengers.

Related posts:

1. Nevis Flights via American Airlines To Cost More
2. British Government Delays Air Passenger Duty Tax For Flights To The Caribbean
3. St. Kitts – Nevis Shows Drop In Flights Landed
4. St. Kitts – Nevis Welcomes British Airways Flights
5. St. Kitts – Nevis Tourism Adversley Affected By British Passenger Duty Tax

Unfair Tax Burden On Caribbean Tourists

Basseterre, St. Kitts – Nevis
March 15, 2012 (CUOPM)

Four of the UK’s leading airlines have slammed planned increases in airline passenger duty (APD) , claiming that the planned increase will reduce passenger numbers and hinder economic recovery.

EasyJet, British Airways’ parent IAG, Ryanair and Virgin Atlantic claim that the Treasury measure, to be announced next week by UK chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne, would be counter-productive.

The Treasury plans to increase APD from April 01 with further increases intended to grow revenue by 46 per cent by 2016.

The airlines claim that these increases would mean a family of four paying tax of 440 pounds sterling to fly economy-class to the Caribbean, and 500 pounds to Australia. In 2005, a family of four travelling to any long-haul destination would have paid just 80 pounds.

A family of four in Scotland or Northern Ireland flying to see friends or relatives in England three times a year would have an APD bill of 420 pounds sterling. In 2005, it would have been 120 pounds sterling.

In a statement on March 12, the airlines’ CEOs, Carolyn McCall, Willie Walsh, Michael O’Leary and Steve Ridgway, said: “These endless cumulative increases in APD are pricing families out of flying – both from and to the UK. That means fewer visitors to the UK, which destroys jobs in our tourism, aviation and hospitality industries – and chokes off opportunities for young people at a time of exceptional youth unemployment.

“CAA figures have confirmed this week that UK passenger numbers in 2011 were at the same level as in 2004. Seven years of rising taxes have brought seven years of no growth.

“Aviation wants to, and should be, playing a leading role in economic recovery – as it does in so many other countries. But the UK imposes the highest aviation taxes in the world, and keeps on increasing them without any analysis whatever of their overall economic impact. We are exporting economic growth, and jobs, to competitor countries. How much longer must this madness go on?

The airlines called on Osborne to suspend the planned rises pending an independent study of the economic effects of such a tax rise.

“We are confident such a study would show that APD’s damage to economic activity outweighs the revenue obtained. It is irresponsible of the Treasury, if it is serious about pursuing economic growth, to keep piling on APD increases without conducting a study of this kind.”

Related posts:

1. St. Kitts – Nevis Tourism Adversley Affected By British Passenger Duty Tax
2. British Government Delays Air Passenger Duty Tax For Flights To The Caribbean
3. St. Kitts’ Airport Records Passenger Increase In 2008
4. Ocean Wings – A New Charter Airline For Nevis
5. British Airways To Set Passenger Record In St. Kitts

Delta Flights at St. Kitts Airport

Basseterre, St. Kitts – Nevis
March 12, 2012 (CUOPM)

The St. Christopher and Nevis Air and Sea Ports Authority (SCASPA) is reporting an increase in passenger arrivals and outbound cargo in 2011 at the Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport compared to the previous year.

According to figures obtained from SCASPA’s Statistics Department, 130,690 passengers arrived by air in 2011, compared to 127,512 in 2010, an increase of 3,178 passengers or 2.49 percent.

Figures also indicate 131,750 passengers departed the Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport in 2011 compared to 127,669 passengers in 2010.

American Airlines, which operates daily flights from Miami and twice weekly flights from New York, accounted for 56,058 inward bound passengers and 54,556 outward bound.

LIAT brought in 38,652 passengers while 40,218 departed on the Caribbean Airline.

American Eagle brought in 12,621 passengers and took out 14,141 passengers, while there were 8,329 inward bound passengers and 8,391 outward bound passengers on British Airways.

There were 5,080 inward bound passengers and 5,140 outward bound passengers on US Airways and 4,516 inward bound passengers and 4,528 outward bound passengers on Delta Air.

Miami Air accounted for 1,374 arriving passengers and 1,194 departing passengers.

While there were 1,858 inward bound passengers and 1,694 outward bound passengers on cooperation jets, SCASPA recorded 1,725 passengers arriving and 1,558 passengers departing on non-commercial or small aircraft.

Air Canada, which began a weekly service to St. Kitts’ Robert Bradshaw International Airport in December brought in 380 passengers and took out 237.

SCASPA is also reporting a total of 6,012 flights landed in 2011 compared to 6,409 flights in 2010, down 6.19 percent. There was also a 6.03 percent drop in outward bound flights, from 6,003 in 2011 compared to 6,388 in 2010.

Outward bound cargo increased 5.38 percent to 585.26 tonnes compared to 555.36 tonnes in 2010. Inward cargo decreased from 890 tonnes in 2010 to 744.30 tonnes in 2011, down 16.38 percent.

Related posts:

1. St. Kitts – Nevis Reports Drop In Air Passenger Arrivals
2. St. Kitts – Nevis Reports Drop In Airport Arrivals
3. St. Kitts Reports a 340% Increase In Cruise Passengers
4. St. Kitts – Nevis Records Triple Digit Increases in Lumber and Cement Imports
5. St. Kitts – Nevis Shows Gains In Imports & Exports