“If Carlsberg made culture, it would look like Valletta” KATHERINE LAWREY ON HOW THE CITY IS GEARING UP FOR EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE STATUS IN 2018, P49
UK saved Kenya’s tourist industry
CAMPAIGN EFFORTS
Battle to abolish APD stalls, with ‘little impact’
CAMPAIGNERS FIGHTING for the abolition of Air Passenger Duty have admitted they are unlikely to win anytime soon – and if they do aviation will have to face up to paying VAT instead. Currently airlines are exempt from
general sales taxes and fuel tax in the UK, with APD levied instead. But because of its structure, the level of tax falls disproportionately on many long-haul destinations that rely on tourism. Speaking at WTM’s APD debate “Revenue
Raiser or Damaging Duty”, Victoria Bacon from Fair Tax on Flying admitted efforts to get successive governments to talk about APD had so far failed to have any impact, despite winning the support of over 100 MPs. “That’s the nature of a campaign,” she
said. “But the UK government has gone from saying APD is an environmental tax to one that is about raising revenue. If we accept that the economy is starting to recover and the deficit is reducing then we should starting talking about the future of the tax.” Aoife O’Leary, policy officer at sustainability campaign group Transport and Environment, said aviation currently enjoyed huge privileges compared to other transport sectors, and that the industry was making a “fuss over nothing” when it complained about APD. “It is a progressive tax; people who fly are
generally better off and would fly more without APD. I have some sympathy with the destinations hit by APD, but that doesn’t mean getting rid of taxation completely. Aviation tax doesn’t cover the damage flying causes to the environment. There has to be a tax on tickets.” Research by accountants PwC recently
revealed that ditching APD would boost the UK’s economic recovery, giving businesses an additional £500 million to invest, ultimately boosting GDP by 0.1%. But PwC economist Dr Jonathan Gillham said the UK would probably maintain its policy of increasing APD regularly. “The Exchequer uses the ‘bird in the hand’ argument. It’s better to have £3.6bn in revenue than take the risk of losing it on the hope of stimulating the economy.”
Neal Baldwin
BRITAIN’S DECISION not to change its travel advice to Kenya following the Westgate Mall terror attack has “saved” the destination’s tourist industry, according to its tourism minister. Phyllis Kandie, Kenya’s cabinet secretary
for East African Affairs, Commerce and Tourism, claimed support from the UK in the aftermath of September’s horrific massacre has helped calm investor nerves and reinforced the message that the terrorist attack was an isolated incident. “We are truly grateful at the reaction of
the international community, and especially Britain,” stressed Kandie. “The UK specifically said that the attack was a local one and did not affect the rest of the country. Feedback from trade partners is that visitors have not been put off coming and understand that no nation is immune from terrorism.” However, Kandie admitted the military
response to the Westgate attacks was not as effective as it should have been. “With people being held hostage we
obviously could not just go in hard, but things happened so fast it did catch us unawares. We perhaps could have handled things differently because time was of the essence.” Kenya is so far unable to gauge how
tourism has been affected. The UK is its largest source market, and in the first six months of the year it attracted 68,676 visitors compared to 83,504 in the same period of 2012 – a fall of 17.7%. As part of efforts to reassure the trade
eight of the UK’s largest tour operators to the country were invited to Nairobi two weeks ago. So far Kenya has hosted 150
OPENING UP EAST AFRICA TRAVEL
Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda have used WTM to launch a new cross-border visa aimed at tourists who want to explore East Africa. The joint visa scheme, which will cost
around £60 per person, has been developed following ministerial talks just two weeks ago. At present tourists have to obtain individual visas for each country, which cost a total of £78. By introducing the new visa, the three
nations hope to simplify travel arrangements for holidaymakers as well as exploit opportunities for joint marketing campaigns. Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda are famed for their wildlife offering. The joint visa will be available at
airports on arrival, alongside the existing single country visas.
LEEDS MET TIE-UP
Apply now for a TTG scholarship
TRAVEL PROFESSIONALS arriving at WTM today can drop by the TTG Media stand and apply for the first TTG Scholarships, marking 60 years since the founding of the Travel Trade Gazette. Providing free tuition for two new degree
HEY BIG SPENDER: TV presenter Ben Fogle was among the celebrities having his photo taken on a £1 coin, at the Main Boulevard, in aid of the Just a Drop charity.
courses at Leeds Metropolitan University, the scholarships are worth a total of more than £13,000. The degree courses – an MSc in Travel Business Leadership and a BSc (Hons) Travel Business Management – have been drawn up following consultation with more than 30 chief executives and directors of UK holiday companies, ensuring they address the needs of the modern travel industry. Visit
ttgdigital.com/ttgscholarship or
drop by the TTG Media stand at EM1670 today.
06.11.2013 05
buyers from 30 countries. The country has been further boosted by the opening of a Kempinski hotel in Nairobi in September and Sir Richard Branson’s luxury Mahali Mzuri safari camp last month. Further investment includes a new terminal at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta airport, due to open in the first half of 2014, which can handle an additional 2.5 million passengers annually, and new hotels from Radisson Blu, Best Western and Dusit International. “Hoteliers have told us they are investing
for the long term and that is a vote of confidence. Going forward, we are looking to attract visitors from Asia, the Middle East and Russia, as well as Africa’s growing middle class,” said Kandie.
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