Air Passenger Duty

Heather Wheeler Excerpts

Thursday 1st November 2012 Commons Chamber

[Priti Patel]

I take on board the hon. Lady’s point.

As well as compromising trade, the cost of APD is felt by the aviation and tourism sector across the country. Last year, more than 30 million visitors came to Britain and spent £18 billion in our economy. We all want to see that number increase, and I want to see more foreign tourists flying to our international airports and travelling to see attractions elsewhere in the country—including the county of Essex, where the tourist sector supports 54,000 jobs and adds £3 billion to our local economy.

[Heather Wheeler (South Derbyshire) (Con)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this debate. She talks about Essex with passion, which is fantastic. In South Derbyshire we are equidistant from East Midlands airport and Birmingham airport and we have a huge amount of tourism, as well as many jobs based in the airport industry. I hope that Ministers listen to my hon. Friend and think again about a tax that is holding back growth.

[Priti Patel]

I thank my hon. Friend for her comments.

We would all like to see travellers from Brazil, Russia, India, China and a range of emerging markets choose to spend their dollars, rupees and other currencies here, but the current rates of APD are deterring inbound tourism, especially from developing countries with a growing middle class. Why would a family of four from China wishing to take a holiday in Europe come to Britain where APD would add a further £324 to their travel costs when they could hop on a flight to France and pay aviation taxes totalling £36 or to Germany where they would also pay less? The Government’s tourism strategy clearly warns that we are pricing ourselves out of the mass or middle market and will swiftly relegate Britain from being the sixth most popular destination in the world to the margins of the industry. The aviation sector supports more than 900,000 jobs and contributes more than £50 billion to GDP. I urge the Government to consider how APD can be reformed to support tourism as well as business.

In 1994, modest levels of £5 for short-haul travel in the EU and £10 for destinations beyond the EU were introduced. APD is now having a negative impact on our economy. When the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Minister without Portfolio, my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Rushcliffe (Mr Clarke), announced the introduction of APD in November 1993, he said it was a small duty on all air passengers from United Kingdom airports. The predicted revenue was £330 million a year. It now raises 10 times more than that, and a family of four travelling economy class to Florida this winter will pay £260 in APD.