The
Pacific Asia Travel Association
(PATA) held a politicians’ and travel industry
leaders’ dinner in
the House of
Commons in London,
November 5.
The
aim was to draw attention to unfair taxation and ill thought-out
schemes that are hurting thetravel industry, especially UK
outbound travel to long-haul destinations. The main tax
under discussion at the dinner was the reviled UK Air Passenger Duty
(APD).
Fifty
global business leaders, members of Parliament, ministers from
a range of PATA countries and international press joined the “aligned
advocacy” event. The occasion, hosted by PATA CEO Martin J Craigs,
was attended by Ms Priti Patel MP, Mr Andrew Rosindell MP, and Mr
Taleb Rifai,Secretary-General,
UNWTO. The keynote speaker was Ms Gloria Guevara, Secretary of
Tourism, Mexico.
Speaking
after the event, Mr Rifai said that last night’s PATA dinner in
the House of Commons, Parliament of the United Kingdom, was a
"triumph for next generation PATA activism" and a "major
step on the road to aligned and effective advocacy for the travel and
tourism”.
During
the dinner, Craigs applauded UK MP Priti Patel who led the UK
parliamentary debate on November 1. In her Parliamentary address
Patel directly quoted the PATA CEO in the House, saying, “The
UK Air Passenger Duty is now the world’s highest by a wide margin.
It is certainly turning away tourism and trade
from the world’s fastest growing economic
region,”.
The
PATA CEO told the audience that 73% of PATA member destinations are
in the two most heavily taxed bands of the UK APD – Band C and Band
D. A UK passenger flying Australia has to pay ₤92 (rising to ₤94
in April 2013). A passenger in business class has to pay ₤184
(rising to ₤188).
The
PATA CEO said: “It is now time for a ‘declaration of
interdependence’ among travel industry bodies.
The travelindustry is being victimized disproportionately by
this tax. It negatively impacts travel industry jobs
in the UK and abroad at a time when we desperately
need to create growth.”
PATA
and travel industry partners are seeking a freeze on the
planned increase in UK APD, and then a reduction in duty levels.
“It’s November 5, but we don’t need fireworks,”
said Craigs. “We are simply seeking a clear-headed reappraisal of
the UK APD.”
Speakers
at the dinner also praised the public campaign called “A Fair Tax
on Flying” that has seen over 200,000 people email their Members of
Parliament in the UK. Emailers called for the abolition or reduction
of the UK APD, a tax that has risen 140% for economy class passengers
and 325% for
business class passengers since 2007.
PATA
has created a six-page overview paper on
UK APD. It looks at the history of the tax, recent developments,
legal issues, and the aviation passenger tax experience of other
non-UK countries.
After
the dinner, Craigs said: “The best is yet to come, as we cajole
and, where necessary, coerce political non-believers and short
termers into realizing that travel and tourism is the
fastest job creating
industry in the world.”
