Last week, the administration of the United Kingdom confirmed that the Air Passenger Duty (APD) will rise by 8 per cent, as of 1st April, despite several condemnation of the proposal.
“This measure will affect the economy of our area,” noted Skerritt, who is also Chairman of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO).
He also pointed out that the APD was responsible for the decrease in British tourists visiting the Caribbean and also the members of the Caribbean community in the United Kingdom have reduced their trips to the region, explained the St. Kitts and Nevis minister.
According to Secretary General of the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association, Alec Sanguinetti, nearly 1,373,600 tourists from the United Kingdom visited the region in 2007, while in 2010, that number dropped to 1,103,400.
Recent statistics from the British Airways which flies from London-Gatwick on Tuesdays and Saturdays, to St. Kitts, brought in 8,329 passengers in 2011, compared to 7,822, an increase of 6.48 percent or 507 more passengers.