European Tour Operators Association President Says Taxes will Hurt the UK

Just last week, the European Tour Operators Association GEM Conference of 2009 took place in London. A number of very important issues about UK travel came up. One such issue was the very controversial issue regarding UK travel taxation. This new taxation comes at a very crucial time for the industry as a whole.

The president of the European Tour Operators Association, Jack Coronna, made the key message. He said that increased taxes on travel would discourage visitors to Britain as people try to avoid paying this new fee. He went on to say that the UK government could learn from other European states that have already abolished this departure tax and other charges on travelers trying to come to their country.

Jack Coronna said that the UK government has raised airport departure taxes this month by 10 to 40 percent, depending on the distance being traveled. If this was the end of it, then it may not be as bad. However, the government plans on raising the taxes yet again in just a year’s time. This comes at a time when the travel industry is doing all it can to keep its head above water. Although next year should show improvement in the travel marketplace, the new tax could prove to keep the UK out of this so called recovery.

Jack Coronna went on to say that UK citizens are going to find it very hard to avoid paying this new tax at some point. The bad news for the tourism industry in the UK is that tourists can avoid paying this fee by simply staying away.