Business maverick Richard Branson
ST. GEORGE, GRENADA, 2nd MARCH, 2012_ A Grenada government official has welcomed the announcement by Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Atlantic, that it will absorb an increase in the British government’s Air Passenger Duty (APD) paid by passengers leaving the United Kingdom.
“We are indeed pleased with this bold step on the part of Virgin. The Airline and its President Sir Richard have proven to be partners in the development of our region,” said Richard Simon, Press Secretary to Grenada’s Prime Minister, on Friday.
He added that previous statements on the APD by Virgin’s President Sir Richard Branson are “extremely useful” to the cause of the Caribbean and gives significant support to the regional lobby to have the tax removed.
Simon also agreed that the imposition of the APD is negatively impacting regional travel as evidenced by statistics from the Caribbean Tourism Organization, which has recorded a decline in British travelers to the region for the third year in a row.
He said any increase in the tax will create further hardship for the “travel dependent” tourism industry, which is already reeling from the effects of the global economy.
“The position of Virgin is consistent with our call for the UK to review the impact of the tax on one of the most important industries to Caribbean Countries. Tourism is the largest contributor to some of our economies and we welcome the assistance of Sir Richard and Virgin Atlantic in bringing additional relief to our countries and attention to this issue,” the Press Secretary said.
He agreed with Virgin Atlantic’s CEO Steve Ridgway, who described the APD in a letter to UK Chancellor George Osborne, as “a tax on tourism and trade,” which will not just impact on passengers but also on business.
Grenada and other Caribbean countries and organizations , including the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) and the UK-Caribbean Forum have strongly argued against the APD, with the CTO describing it as “discriminatory”.
