Industry leaders have blasted the aviation polices of European governments and increases to the UK’s Airport Departure Tax (APD), accusing politicians of holding back the development of travel and tourism.
Pacific Asia Travel Association chief executive, Martin Craigs, spearheaded the scathing attack on western government aviation policies, which he claimed will severely impact Asia Pacific.
Speaking at the World Travel and Tourism Council Global Summit in Tokyo, Craigs branded the UK’s Airport Departure Tax (APD) “the height of hypocrisy”.
He claimed the UK government had dressed the APD up as a green policy when it was in fact just “lining their coffers”.
“Western governments just don't get it about aviation and travel,” he said.
“Through their policies, they are actively destroying job opportunities.”
“Through their policies, they are actively destroying job opportunities.”
The increased cost of £90 per person to fly from the UK to anywhere in Asia acts as a deterrent for family travel, he argued, dramatically limiting growth prospects in Asia Pacific.
He referred to research by Oxford Economics which indicated that if the European Union suppressed air travel growth to Asia by just 1% per year to 2030, the result would be 6.5 million fewer jobs created in Asia Pacific.
A recent WTTC report revealed 91,000 British jobs would be lost as a result of the tax.
Visit Britain chief executive Christopher Rodrigues later told Travel Today that while the hikes had not visibly negatively impacted travel to the UK as yet, the situation teetered “on the brink”.
The European Union’s Emissions Trading Scheme also came under fire with WTTC president and chief executive David Scowsill warning of “dire consequences” with a trade war a possibility.
The council called for a global solution and said it would be working closely with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to find a solution.
