TourIsm


Getting behind the daylight saving plans


kurT jAnson is policy director of Tourism Alliance


Irish tourism VAT rate to stay


The Irish government has confirmed it will retain the lower 9 per cent VAT rate on tourism products throughout 2012 in a bid to continue sup- porting the sector’s recovery. Introduced earlier this


B


acking a Private Member’s Bill is usually seen by MPs as something to be undertaken when showing support for an issue but knowing


the outcome will almost certainly fail. Without the support of the government,


very few Bills ever receive the votes and the time needed to gain Royal Assent. In the last 10 years, only about five bills per year (around 20 per cent) ever emerge from the Parliamentary process onto the statute books. And even then, Bills that make it are usually ones that no one is interested in opposing – the Ragwort Control Act 2002, for example – or are so obviously needed that no one would consider opposing them – such as the Anti-Slavery Day Act 2009. Successful Bills also tend not to affect


society as a whole, but seek to make small amendments to help a particular small sector of society or rectify a problem that has been found to exist with, or not cov- ered by, existing legislation. Tis makes the announcement that the government will probably come out in support of Rebecca Harris’s Daylight Saving Bill stand out. It is a Bill that could change how everyone undertakes their daily routine receiving the government’s backing – something almost without precedent. And not without con- siderable risk, as there is vocal opposition from some ill-informed groups. Two things can be drawn from the gov-


ernment’s willingness to support the Bill. Te first is that it must be convinced of the arguments made by the wide range of groups supporting the Bill, including tour- ism, leisure and sport groups, road safety campaigners, environmental lobbyists, age welfare support groups and teachers, as to the benefits of having more daylight in the evenings to undertake leisure activities. Te second is that the government will


need the support of people in the leisure industry if it is to hold its nerve and con- tinue its support. When the Daylight Saving Bill reaches Committee stage early next year, it will trigger considerable debate in the media. People in the leisure industry must join that debate and win the argument to help ensure the passage of the Bill.


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year as part of the wider Jobs Initiative, the reduced rate is designed to help Irish-owned hospitality and leisure firms whose services and products are “home-grown”. Transport, tourism and


sport minister Leo Varadkar has now told the Good Food Ireland conference in Dublin that the government would retain the 9 per cent VAT rate next year. Varadkar said: “This rate is significant


Te lower rate of VAT on tourism products came into force in this year


because it principally benefits home-grown employers which are based in Ireland. Te vast majority of hotels, restaurants and leisure busi- nesses are Irish-owned and any profits stay in


Ireland. Te lower VAT of 9 per cent applies to these domestic businesses whose services and products are home-grown. “Even where the rate was not passed on


[to customers], it still benefited the tourism industry by helping businesses to expand their operations or take on additional staff.”


Exmoor nets International Dark Sky Reserve status UK astronomer and chair of the IDA’s IDA


Te International Dark Sky Association (IDA) has named Exmoor National Park as Europe’s first International Dark Sky Reserve. It is only the world’s second such reserve,


with Exmoor’s bid for the recognition having been developed over the last two years.


Dark Sky Places Development Committee, Steve Owens, said: “Te designation will hope- fully attract stargazers from around the world, and astrotourism will become another staple attraction to Exmoor.”


Airlines call on chancellor to scrap APD


Te chief executives of four airlines have urged chancellor George Osborne to scrap Air Passenger Duty (APD), call- ing it a “tax on tourism and a tax on business”. Carolyn McCall of easyJet;


Willie Walsh of International Airlines Group; Virgin Atlantic’s Steve Ridgway; and Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary have all voiced their opposi- tion to the current levy. In a letter to Osborne, the


four signatories said passen- ger numbers had fallen at UK airports over the last three years and was having a neg- ative impact on the country’s tourism sector. Osborne has also been urged to commission an independent study into the “true economic effects” of APD on the British economy.


Read Leisure Opportunities online: www.leisureopportunities.co.uk/digital Te four chief executives said APD has a negative effect on UK tourism Te letter said: “For hard-working families,


APD is a tax too far for the privilege of taking a well-earned holiday. It is also a tax on tour- ism and a tax on business.”


Twitter: @leisureopps © CYBERTREK 2011


IMAGE: KEITH MURPHY/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM


IMAGE: DUBASSY/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM


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