Further to the Chancellor’s announcement that Air Passenger Duty will increase by 2.5% in April 2013, please find comment from ABTA – The Travel Association below.

Mark Tanzer, CEO ABTA said: “With growth forecasts slashed yet again by the Chancellor, the Government needs to focus every effort on driving growth. Tourism is a sector that the Prime Minister has previously outlined as a key growth opportunity and yet once again the Government has announced a rise in APD, strangling the industry’s potential. Meeting the Treasury Minister responsible for APD yesterday, I stressed to him the urgent need for a review of the effects of APD on growth and the economy. The tourism sector is ready to employ more people and to offer genuine economic growth but to do this we need the Government to look again at higher and higher levels of Air Passenger Duty and back the whole of our sector – domestic, inbound and outbound.”

Luke Pollard, Head of Public Affairs at ABTA – The Travel Association, said: “The Chancellor is right to prioritise growth in his Autumn Statement, but that intent looks hollow whilst he yet again hikes UK air taxes. To further increase the world's highest aviation tax whilst at the same time refusing to invest in proper modelling of the economic impacts of this tax is very concerning. This year, nearly 300,000 people have backed the industry's call for a review that would show what effects this tax is having on the UK economy's ability to grow.  Without such an analysis, the Government will only continue to put off foreign tourists and business investment, make holidays abroad more expensive and further make UK goods and services less competitive."