IAG Group CEO Willie Walsh Campaigns for ADP Cuts
International Airlines Group, the company behind British Airways, has launched a campaign to reform visa structure and cut aviation taxes for Chinese visitors in a bid to boost tourism.
Willie Walsh, the company’s chief executive officer, is currently trying to convince George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, that there are great advantages in cutting visa costs and aviation taxes for Chinese visitors to Great Britain.
Walsh has written to Osborne outlining the various advantages of reducing the Air Passenger Duty (APD), reform the visa structure for visitors from China, and protect funds for VisitBritain, Britain’s national tourism agency.
Walsh’s pleas are included in the document he has submitted to the Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR), as part of which the Treasury had instructed various departments to find ways to save around £20 billion in the following four years.
According to Walsh,
the highest tax of its kind anywhere in the world” is the APD, which “acts as a major brake on tourism to the UK and inward investment.
He urged the government to follow in the footsteps of the Scottish government, which is planning to reduce the APD by half.
Each traveler has to pay anywhere in the range of £13 to £142, depending on the class of the ticket and the total distance travelled. If Wales and Scotland halves the ADP, passengers will choose to fly from those countries, and this would put English airports into trouble.
According to Willie Walsh, overall economy can be boosted if the APD is completely abolished. Walsh also says that UK’s visa structure for visitors from China should be changed along the lines of that in the US. Last year, the US announced 10-year visas for Chinese visitors to attract visitors from the East.
Chinese visitors have to spend £100 for a 10-year visa to the US, but they have to spend £800 for a visa to the UK. Since China and the US are the biggest economies in the world, the UK ought to give equal access to visitors from both countries, said Walsh.
Last year, Chinese visits to the UK declined to 185,000 by 7.6%, according to data provided by the Office for National Statistics. The data also shows that Chinese visitors’ spending in the Britain has declined by 1%. Walsh is one of the several campaigners who have been urging the government to make things easier for Chinese visitors in a bid to boost tourism.
