BHA opposes tourism tax on Heathrow passengers

The British Hospitality Association (BHA) said today it was strongly opposed to London Mayor Ken Livingstone's plans to impose a tourism tax on passengers flying into Heathrow airport.

Livingstone said the levy was necessary to protect the environment from the pollution caused by rising numbers of aircraft.

He added that it would raise funds to improve public transport in the capital.

But the BHA said this represented the worst possible scenario for the capital's hotels, which were struggling to recover from downturns in business caused by the 11 September terrorist attacks, the Sars outbreak and the Iraq war.

"Any revenue generated from such a tax would not be reinvested in the industry and will further damage UK competitiveness just as it shows signs of a sustained recovery," said a BHA spokesman.

"Tourists to the UK pay the second highest rate of VAT in the European Union and any additional taxes would add to the image of the UK as a ‘high cost' destination"

Robert Barnard, director of hotel consultancy services at PKF, also regarded the proposed tax as a backwards step.

He said London's hotels were slowly rebuilding their occupancy levels, which would give them the chance to rebuild average room rates that had taken a considerable battering in recent years.

"A tourism tax would have a negative impact on their ability to do that," he said.

by Angela Frewin

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