p9 news June5 3/6/09 22:38 Page 9
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news
In brief
APD branded ‘racist’
■ Longmere International ceases trading
Abta agent Longmere International ceased
trading this week. The company specialised
and ‘poll tax in sky’
in short-haul golfing holidays to Portugal, Spain
and Turkey. Longmere operated under a number
of trading names including The Travel Centre,
Abta to target Ashes matches, Notting Hill Carnival and general
Golf4 Ireland, Golf Pro Travel Club, Tee Time election to rally support against APD rises. By Lee Hayhurst
Abroad and The Golf Holiday Company.
TRAVEL industry bosses have vowed to use A paper written for the Dutch government
■ Corroboree moves to Melbourne for 2010 every opportunity to protest against next year’s on the harmful effects of the tax on the
Corroboree 2010 will take place in Melbourne. planned increases in Air Passenger Duty. Dutch economy will be used to put the case in
The training workshop for European Australia Representatives from the airline industry, tour the UK.
specialists will have space for 300 agents, who operators, travel agents, tourist boards and APD was also criticised as being potentially
will be flown down under for the May event. trade unions met last week at Abta’s London “racist” in that it would effectively discriminate
office to galvanise opposition to APD. against communities in long-haul destinations
■ Holiday Inn to sponsor 2012 Olympics There was agreement it was too late to prevent and many Commonwealth partners with large
InterContinental Hotels Group has signed up its this year’s rise, due in November, when the tax ethnic populations in the UK.
Holiday Inn brand as an estimated £10 million will start to be based on controversial distance The Ashes cricket test series, the annual Not-
sponsor of the London 2012 Olympics. The hotel bands between London and capital cities overseas. ting Hill Carnival and the build-up to the Olympic
group is believed to be providing half of the However, next Games were highlighted as opportunities to rally
sponsorship through accommodation and year’s larger rise popular opposition
services before and during the Olympics and is considered to
The story so far. . .
against the tax.
£5 million in capital. be a tax too far Caribbean destina-
for the travel TTG has been campaigning against tions will mount cam-
■ Virgin code-shares with ANA to Tokyo industry, and was the new form of APD since January paigns in vulnerable
Virgin Atlantic and All Nippon Airways are to described by trade 16 when we started a Downing Street Labour seats in the
code-share on flights between London and union Balpa as a “poll petition. It was signed by 6,500 people. next general election.
Tokyo from August. The deal gives passengers tax in the skies”. The Treasury responded to a letter from The travel industry
who book with either airline the option of an Last week’s meeting TTG editor Lucy Huxley on March 20 will also argue that the
extra daily service. Virgin’s flight to Tokyo Narita was told a number of defending the tax. On April 24 TTG took tax will cost British
departs Heathrow at 13.45, while ANA’s service key dates are coming its fight to the House of Commons where jobs and the economy.
departs at 19.35. up when the industry, Caribbean ministers vowed to make it an Roger Wiltshere, of
led by Abta, could issue at the next general election. the British Air Trans-
■ Inntel wins £1m deal with blind charity make its views port Association,
Inntel has won a three-year deal worth £1 million known to the quoted a govern-
to manage the Royal National Institute of Blind government. ment paper on the
People’s travel and meetings programme. The The first will be tax that stated it
charity said it needed a business travel agency at the end of should not have an
to help reduce costs and make savings. this month when adverse effect on
Holland scraps its the economy or be
■ FHA calls for extra ‘family day’ bank holiday version of APD. discriminatory.
The Family Holiday Association has joined forces
with National Family Week to lobby for the creation
of Family Day. The last Monday in October is
BALPA POLL.
Balpa general secretary Jim McAuslan said he
being suggested as the best day. To sign the
petition go to nationalfamilyweek.co.uk.
Brits will abandon
was worried by the results. “Rather than reduce
APD, the government will double this tax at British
■ The Travel Foundation wins UN award UK for Amsterdam
airports over the next 18 months,” he said.
“At a time when the worldwide aviation
Sustainable tourism charity The Travel Foundation industry is suffering, the UK chancellor is going
was awarded a special Jury Prize at the United LONG-HAUL holidaymakers might abandon UK to suffocate his very own industry.
Nations World Tourism Organisation Ulysses airports and fly from elsewhere because of Air “This could only be dreamt up in the UK. The
Awards 2009 in Madrid this week. The charity Passenger Duty, according to a recent survey. Dutch have recently scrapped their tax on pas-
was recognised for creating destination An online poll commissioned by the British senger flights to try to attract more business
partnerships for sustainable tourism. Airline Pilots’ Association revealed that 90% of from neighbouring countries and good old
adults would prefer to fly to Amsterdam to Britain is happy to oblige. It is economic madness.”
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connect with long-haul flights to avoid tax of up
from the travel industry, visit ttglive.com to £85 per passenger from Heathrow. ■ Newcastle airport ‘jeopardised’ by tax, p24
05.06.2009 09
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