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.