UK government’s move to increase Air Passenger Duty (APD) levied on passengers flying out of UK from November 2010 is likely to affect the forthcoming inbound season in India in a big way. APD is charged based on distance of the destination from UK and is classified into four bands. According to the figures received from the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA), India mostly falls in band C (4001 to 6000 miles). APD will increase from 50 pounds in Economy Class to 75 pounds and from 100 pounds in Business Class to 150 pounds per passenger for destinations in band C.
For India, UK is the second largest source market after USA. According to Foreign Tourist Arrival (FTA) figures for 2009 released by Ministry of Tourism, India recorded 7, 48,765 visitors from UK out of the total of 51, 08,579 FTAs. USA was on top with a figure of 8, 03,021. According to industry experts, once the hike in APD comes into effect it is likely to result in a 10 per cent dip in leisure traffic from UK and also reduce charter flights to Goa. Industry players, especially inbound tour operators are worried about the prospects of the forthcoming season. |