$3 Levy to Be Charged on Airline Tickets for Persons Traveling to the OECS

The implementation of a $3 levy on airline tickets for persons traveling to the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and the wider Caribbean originating in overseas markets was among decisions taken at last week joint meeting of the OECS Authority and the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) Monetary Council.

The meeting, which was attended by all OECS prime ministers and ministers of finance, agreed on a number of short, medium and long strategies to cope with the effects of the financial downturn in the tourism sector as a means of minimizing the implementation on the regional tourism industry.

The participants agreed in principle that the proceeds of the levy will be used to establish a sustainable funding mechanism to ensure adequate public funding of regional market campaigns.

Member states, according to the a joint statement issued following the meeting, acknowledged that the impact of the global financial and economic crisis on member countries was grave and given the scale and scope of the international crisis there is the possibility that it will be prolonged.

Participants agreed how important it was to undertake appropriate policy measures to deal with the effects of the crisis and to position the countries to take advantage of the recovery when it comes.

For the tourism sector, it was agreed that in the short term member states would provide a short-term tax relief package to the hotel industry tailored to the individual circumstances of individual member states, on condition that the industry takes proactive innovative measures to preserve employment levels, increase operating efficiency and reduce operating costs.