NEWS
ABTA fears Treasury will increase Air Passenger Duty as a ‘stopgap’ for new tax
Government stalls on
00.00.2008
calling an end to APD
Ian Taylor
ian.taylor@rbi.co.uk
The government appears ready
to dash industry hopes of an
end to Air Passenger Duty on
fares, with an increase in APD
on the cards in an imminent
Pre-Budget Report.
Chancellor Alistair Darling
promised to abolish APD and
replace it with a new aviation
duty in his Pre-Budget Report
a year ago. The duty was to be
related to the environmental
impact of fl ying and replace
APD from November 2009.
Darling promised details of
the proposals by this autumn
and an announcement of the
switch a full year before its introduction.
All parties expected
this to be included in the chancellor’s
next Pre-Budget Report,
due by early December.
Elite plans to launch
price-match scheme
The Elite Travel Group is to
launch a price-match scheme
to prevent operators from
undercutting the consortium’s
members with online discounting
on direct sales.
Chairman Wayne Darrock
said the scheme is already
being used by its sister consortium
Advantage, which introduced
it around fi ve years ago,
and now has up to six tour operators
known for discounting
heavily online signed up.
The deal means the operators
give agents the same price
on a holiday as advertised
online. Darrock is hoping
Elite’s worst-offending supp-
“We are bemused.
An announcement
is needed this
month if the
government is to
stick to its promise”
However, since initial proposals
went out to consultation
early this year the Treasury
has said nothing.
A Treasury spokeswoman
refused to comment beyond
saying: “We cannot confi rm the
date of the Pre-Budget Report.
One is expected before Christmas.
You just have to wait.”
ABTA met Treasury offi cials
last week, but drew a blank. An
ABTA spokeswoman said: “We
are concerned the government
will increase APD as a stopgap.”
liers will sign up to the
scheme in time for the January
peaks market.
Darrock said: “It is a good
scheme and we want to extend
to our tour operators.”
He said both consortia are
also reviewing deals they have
with the 82 operators that only
work with one of the two consortia,
which announced plans
to merge commercial departments
last month.
Darrock admitted some
tour operators could lose
their deals with one of the
consortia, but refused to
speculate on how many.
>See Opinion, page 31
Darling remains tight-lipped
over the new aviation duty
The Treasury has banked
on the new duty bringing
£500,000 more in revenue
than the £2 billion a year from
APD – suggesting a failure to
make the switch could mean at
least a 25% rise in the duty.
However, the government will
For aviation news go to
www.travelweekly.co.uk/
aviation
WTM gets ready for lift-off
Travel Weekly is the offi cial UK
trade media partner at this
year’s World Travel Market.
Highlights include Tuesday’s
luxury travel seminar in which
TWgroup editor-in-chief Penny
Wilson goes head to head with
Taj Hotel Resorts and Palaces
senior vice-president sales and
marketing Ajoy Misra at 3.30pm
in North Gallery Room 6/7.
4 | Travel Weekly | November 7 2008 www.travelweekly.co.uk
need to raise more tax following
recent events.
Tour operators were
enraged when the government
gave less than two months’ notice
that it was doubling APD
two years ago – costing the
trade £50 million. The Federation
of Tour Operators and
ABTA have lobbied against
any repeat and easyJet has
campaigned for aviation duty.
However, British Airways
and other scheduled airlines
have lobbied to retain APD.
A senior industry source said:
“We are bemused by the situation.
An announcement is needed
this month if the government
is to stick to its promise.”
On Wednesday, TWgroup
publishing director Simon Ferguson
will chair a debate on
ATOLs at 10.15am in North Gallery
Room 15, while Wilson will
chair a session on how agents
can maximise sales at 3.30pm
in North Gallery Room 8.
Thursday is devoted to
agents and includes Travel
Weekly’s annual Passport Com-
Thomas
Cook jobs
to be saved
More than 150 Thomas Cook
jobs are set to be saved at its
Accrington call centre.
Outsourced contact centre
provider Sitel is to take over
the Lancashire site, which
Thomas Cook announced it
was shutting in June with the
potential loss of 260 jobs.
But Sitel hopes to fi nd
positions for many of the staff
employed by the Cresta,
Tradewinds and Swiss Travel
Service brands after winning a
major travel client. As well as
agent roles, Sitel said it has further
job opportunities in the
region for trainers, team leaders
and operational managers.
Sitel managing director
UK and Ireland Marianne
Fitzjohn said: “We are committed
to a long-term presence in
Accrington.”
It is also urging external
candidates to apply for positions
for the roles.
Thomas Cook is relocating
the functions to offi ces in
Peterborough, Bradford and
Brighton.
petition, with our largest prize
giveaway hosted by former
EastEnders actor Shaun Williamson,
pictured above with
Travel Weekly marketing manager
Jenny Shaw and WTM
head of marketing and communications
Micaela Juarez.
>For more on highlights
of World Travel Market,
see page 30
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