Reform of Atols is ‘imminent’
PLANS TO reform the Atol system are set to be unveiled within weeks as the government comes under growing pressure to take action in the wake of the Goldtrail and Kiss failures. The two failures, combined with the collapse of the CAA’s case against Travel Republic, have placed the system of consumer protection firmly on the new government’s agenda. Civil servants are understood to have been made aware of the urgency of the situation by senior figures at the CAA, who now accept the system of Atol regulation has, in effect, become voluntary following the Travel Republic case. The failure of the action has meant travel firms can decide whether to take part based on their system of contracting. The CAA is understood to have conveyed to the Department for Transport the urgency of announcing a reformed system that can be effectively enforced. On Holiday Group chief executive Steve Enda- cott said an effective system could be introduced faster if the government added £1 to Air Passen- ger Duty to provide protection on all flights.
news
EVERY CRUISER WINS Melissa Johnson, a consultant at Spectrum Cruises in Manches- ter, will attend the TTG Awards in London on September 23 after winning a prize draw. For more on the TTG Awards, see page 26
04 03.09.2010
03.09.2010
Caribbean lobbies over APD changes
Chris Gray. A DELEGATION of Caribbean tourism ministers will next week put pressure on the new government over plans to reform Air Passenger Duty. Tourism ministers from six islands will meet coalition government min- isters as well as airline bosses to push for a better deal for the region in a reformed tax. It will be the first meeting between Caribbean ministers and the government since it was elected, and they will be hoping for a more sympathetic ear than that offered by the previous administration. Despite repeated appeals from individual min-
isters and the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO), the last government failed to alter the sys- tem of distance bands that discriminates against the region by taxing it at a higher rate than the US. Next week’s delegation will include John Magin-
ley from Antigua and Barbuda, Edmund Bartlett from Jamaica, Richard Sealy from Barbados, Glynis Roberts from Grenada, Richard Skerritt from St Kitts & Nevis, Allen Chastanet from St Lucia, and Hugh Riley, secretary general of the CTO. A CTO spokeswoman said the meeting aimed to
APD rise would hit tourism
ensure that the islands’ voice was heard in the debate over whether re- form should continue a per-passen- ger tax or move to a per-plane duty. The organisation has already indi- cated it could challenge increases to Air Passenger Duty (APD) as an ille- gal restraint on trade, as they would hit the islands’ key export of tourism. The delegation comes after Abta
used the Notting Hill Carnival to highlight the impact of APD rises due in November on the Caribbean. The association is urging people to write to their
MPs to demand an end to plans to increase the tax because it will make the Caribbean the preserve of the better off. British Airways chief executive Willie Walsh last week warned politicians that they must not risk harming economies that depend on tourism through their tax policies.
Speaking ahead of a visit to Barbados, where he will speak on the future of intercontinental travel at a CTO conference, Walsh said tax policies should en- courage recovery in tourism-dependent economies.
■Air travel ‘is the solution’, p18 Islands clear up after Hurricane Earl
SEVERAL CARIBBEAN islands have been clearing up after being battered by Hurricane Earl. Destinations including Antigua, the US and British Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Turks and Caicos were hit by winds of up to 135mph. Many islands suffered from flooding and damage to buildings.
The Antigua Hotel and Tourist Association said some hotels had sustained mostly minimal dam- age as the result of flooding, and that all major properties were open for business. Flights were cancelled and several cruise ships diverted around the eastern Caribbean region
due to the hurricane, which then moved towards the east coast of the US. US cruise lines including Carnival, Royal Caribbean and NCL had to make last-minute changes to Caribbean itineraries. Holidaymakers were evacuated from Ocracoke Island, off the coast of North Carolina, on Wednesday as a precaution. Hurricane Earl was predicted to reach the North Carolina shore by Friday and then make its way north up the east coast towards New York and New England. Earl was being followed by tropical storm Fiona, which was approaching the Leeward Islands.
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