Bahamas Dodging Air Passenger Duty Bullet

Bahamas Dodging Air Passenger Duty Bullet
By Jammal Smith

The Bahamas isn’t feeling any severe pinch from the Air Passenger Duty (APD) that has negatively impacted other countries and airlines according to Director General for Tourism David Johnson.

Johnson told Guardian Business yesterday that European travel to The Bahamas hasn’t taken a hit unlike other countries in the region, confirming that airlift numbers for the first half of the year won’t be adversely affected by it.

“The effects of the Air Passenger Duty haven’t had a significant impact on us, because visitors arriving by air from the United Kingdom (U.K.) aren’t a major part of our business,” Johnson said. “The non-stop flight we have from the U.K. usually consists of travelers who reside in The Bahamas or business travelers from the country.”

Johnson’s comments came after several news outlets reported that the APD is causing airlines and airports in the U.K. to suffer losses, with suggestions reportedly being made to scrap the duty in its entirety.  It’s possible that the APD could increase every year up to 2016.  

Passengers traveling to The Bahamas and other countries in the Caribbean already pay up to $240 in taxes. The APD is divided into four different ‘bands’, which groups different countries and offers different rates in relation to a country’s distance from the U.K.  

The Bahamas along with other regional countries initially lobbied with airline heads and governments last September to be placed in the same band as the U.S., which has APD fees up to 25 percent lower than the Caribbean.

With visitors from the U.K. only representing 6 percent of the tourists that come to The Bahamas, the potential losses that have come due to a more expensive European route is being made up in the additional airlift being brought in to the country, according to Johnson.  

He is referring to Vision Airlines, which will operate five non-stop flights from the U.S. to Grand Bahama, projected to bring 100,000 seats annually, and Copa Airlines which provides non-stop flights to Panama.

“What we are doing with the new airlines that are coming on board will continue to grow our airlift and visitors,” he said.  “We have Vision Airlines coming on board, opening up new routes and we have Copa Airlines operating flights to Panama, opening up a new market for us.  We would like to keep our U.K. market, but the bigger picture is to keep growing.”