COMMENT IN MY OPINION


On June 20, Holyrood voted to replace the tax paid by passengers on


flights from Scotland’s airports. More than 100 MSPs voted to scrap Air Passenger Duty (APD) in favour of a new devolved Air Departure Tax (ADT) from April 2018. The Scottish government says it


wants to cut the new tax by 50% (of APD), before getting rid of it altogether.


Cheapflights has reported a surge


in searches for long-haul flights from Scotland since the announcement, with rises of up to 178% and 137% seen for searches from Glasgow to Las Vegas and Orlando respectively. This is great news for us north of the


border, but I wonder, is it all it’s cracked up to be?


Air Departure Tax Call me cynical, but knowing how fickle politicians can be and how they have treated the travel industry over the years, I am wary of anything they say. This was a major issue in the Scottish


referendum debate, but it dropped off a cliff after the vote. Now it’s back in vogue. My view is if you are going to


do it, you go the whole way and get rid of this tax completely and straight away. I’ll be watching closely to see how this plays out over the next nine months. I have never been trustful of those who think they know our industry better than those who have dedicated their life to it. I also wonder how this loss in tax will be replaced and how it will affect airports in the north of England if Scotland has a clear advantage. Newcastle airport has already urged


the government to cut APD for airports in the north of England fearing Scotland will have an unfair advantage.


Lates market Moving to the markets, the lates is almost in full swing, school holidays have started in Scotland and are just about to start down south. Supply and demand will again come into


JIMMY MARTIN


OWNER, JIMMY MARTIN TRAVEL, EDINBURGH


New tax proposal should not see light of day


Government should go whole way and scrap air tax completely


play, but there are more uncertainties. Do consumers have enough extra


money swirling around and will it go far enough? The word austerity is never far away and it’s always assumed clients will find the money to go on holiday, but I fear this may be wearing thin this time around, with the market stats against me on this one. We will find out exactly where we


stand at the end of the season. All we can do is plug away and keep doing what we do to close sales. Get that smile on your face and let the customers know you are open and interested in their business. Better to make a little than nothing at all. Best of luck for the rest of the season.


FOR MORE COLUMNS BY JIMMY MARTIN, GO TO TRAVELWEEKLY.CO.UK


38 travelweekly.co.uk 20 July 2017


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