Caribbean nations are making another go at getting Britain to reform its burdensome Air Passenger Duty (APD).
“It is the moral and fundamental thing to do,” Minister of Tourism Richard Sealy told a meeting in London to reconstitute the APD Committee comprising among others, diplomats of Caribbean nations.
The meeting was held at the offices of the Barbados High Commission. Present were High Commissioners from Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, Grenada, Dominica and Cuba and representatives from Belize, Trinidad and Tobago and the Dominican Republic.
The Caribbean has so far failed in its quest to have Britain reband the distance-based APD so as not to disadvantage the region.
Due to the way the departure tax is calculated, by measuring the distance from London to the destination’s capital city, those flying to the Caribbean currently contribute more in APD than those flying to California or Hawaii. (TR)
