Caribbean tourism officials promised last week to continue their fight against a controversial United Kingdom tax on air travel, vowing to take the matter to the World Trade Organisation if necessary.
Speaking at Caribbean Travel Marketplace in Paradise Island, Bahamas, Josef Forstnayr, president of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association, told reporters that the group “does not accept” a recent UK decision to continue levying the tax.
“It’s penalised us and it’s unbelievable that we are being penalised, as we have very few economic opportunities,” Mr. Forstnayr said. “It’s tourism or nothing for many of our islands.”
Many Caribbean leaders have opposed the APD since its implementation in 2009, claiming that it unfairly impacts the region because of the way it is structured.
See the Feb. 2, 2012 edition for full coverage.