MPs Vote for APD Review as Eight in Ten Agree APD May be Pricing People out of Flying

2012-11-03 — /travelprnews.com/ — ABTA welcomes the outcome of a three hour debate in the House of Commons on the future structure and level of Air Passenger Duty [APD], which saw MPs vote in favour of the Treasury undertaking an economic assessment of the impacts of APD on the UK economy. The debate was brought about by a group of cross-party backbench MPs who have been putting pressure on the Government.

The outcome of the debate supports the findings of a recent ABTA survey¹, which reveals MPs’ growing concerns over the affordability of APD. According to the survey 81% of MPs agree or agree strongly that APD may be pricing some people out of flying, a 6% increase since 2011.

Mark Tanzer, CEO ABTA said: “We are very pleased with the outcome of yesterday’s debate. We have been working long and hard for this outcome and this is a positive step towards our goal of securing a review into the economic impacts of APD. The Treasury now knows such a review has strong support from MPs, the general public and British businesses and we will continue to put the pressure on the Government.”

The Fair Tax on Flying alliance of over 30 airlines, airports, business and travel organisations including ABTA, launched an e-mail campaign earlier this year which resulted in 200,000 members of the public e-mailing their MPs asking for their support for an independent report into the impact of APD on the UK economy. The public also clearly see the negative impact of APD on the UK economy with almost half [47%] believing that APD puts the UK at a disadvantage with only 15% believing that it does not. ²

Luke Pollard, Head of Public Affairs, ABTA said: “Since the launch of the Fair Tax on Flying online campaign at the start of the summer, it has been winning ever more support from MPs. The Treasury now know that not only is APD one of the largest post bag issues of the Parliament thanks to the campaign, but that many MPs also back the call for a review.”

For further information

Sean Tipton, Media Relations Manager, tel: 020 3117 0513
Gillian Edwards, Senior Public Relations Manager, 020 3117 0514
Victoria Bacon Head of Communications, tel: 020 3117 0515
Out of Hours:  Contact the Duty Press Officer via pager: 07659 190 987
E-mail: press@abta.co.uk
Web: www.abta.com
Twitter: @ABTAtravel

Notes to editors

¹ComRes surveyed 150 MPs on the ComRes Parliamentary Panel between 22nd May and 22nd June 2012 by self-completion postal questionnaire and online. Data was weighted to reflect the exact composition of the House of Commons in terms of party representation and regional constituency distribution.

²Consumer research was conducted by Arkenford Ltd (www.arkenford.co.uk) who specialise in tourism and leisure market research. The ABTA Consumer Trends survey generated response from a nationally representative sample of 2008 consumers using an online research methodology and related to holiday booking habits in the 12 months to September 2012. Fieldwork was conducted in September 2012.

About ABTA

ABTA has been at the heart of travel for more than 60 years. Our purpose is to help our Members to grow their businesses successfully and sustainably, and to help their customers – the travelling public – have confidence in their travel experience.

The ABTA brand stands for expertise, reliability and fairness. These qualities are core to us. They ensure that holidaymakers remain confident in the holiday products that they buy from our Members.

We help our Members and their customers navigate through today’s changing travel landscape by providing schemes of financial protection and a course of redress if something goes wrong; by raising standards in the industry and by giving guidance on issues from sustainability to health and safety; and by presenting a united voice to government to ensure the industry and the public get a fair deal.

ABTA currently has around 1,300 Members and represents over 5,000 retail outlets and offices. For more details about what we do, what being an ABTA Member means and how we’re working at the heart of the industry to ensure that we continue to build confidence in travel visit www.abta.com.

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