The issue of aviation must be tackled head-on, according to the chairman of the Caribbean Tourism Organisation.
Ricky Skerritt said airline ticket costs had jumped since 9/11, particularly in terms of security.
Smaller countries with economies of scale issues still needed the same facilities as any international destination and because of this the per-passenger costs go up with added tax.
This is passed on to airport users, therefore the fewer people who use the airport, the higher the proportional increase has been.
Some airlines have withdrawn or decreased flights, but the running costs of an airport remain the same, Mr. Skerritt said.
“We need to get creative and remove or reduce taxes for intra-regional travel to incentivize and encourage the market,” he said.
“But the job of a Minister of Tourism is to get people to come to your territory, not send them somewhere else, so it’s a bit of a Catch-22.”
However, it would be better if ministers could see the Caribbean as one destination, if the mind set could be that intra-island travel was valuable and costs came down.
Budget airline REDjet has driven down costs, but whether they had come down past the point of viability, only time would tell, he cautioned.
“Some serious decisions need to be made about taxes. They should relate to goods and services provided to travellers, not outside services or to fund the lifestyle of a nation. Air passenger duty and other outrageously high taxes have taken this beyond the point of ridiculousness,” he said.
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