Nevis Tourism Minister Talks Taxes as LIAT Returns

As regional carrier Liat reintroduces service to Nevis, the island’s tourism minister has committed to advocating for a reduction in taxes for intra-regional travel.

Liat stopped flying to Nevis and a number of other Caribbean destinations two years ago in a bid to reduce operating costs to destinations which were not financially viable.

However, a new partnership launched over the weekend with Liat, Caribbean Helicopters and the Nevis Island administration, saw the return of a daily flight from Antigua to Nevis return.

Mark Brantley who is also Aviation Minister for the twin-island Federation of St Kitts & Nevis said the absence of the Liat service created “serious inconvenience” for the tourism dependent island.

“The return of the everyday service for us is very important,” Brantley told OBSERVER media, adding that the hope is to increase the frequency of the service.

Brantley said while the island of only 12, 000 has a lot to offer visitors the cost of getting there proves difficulty for some.

The parliamentary representative for Nevis said “a big chunk of the ticket tends to be taxes” and he plans to “look at this issue.”

“So rather than constantly putting pressure on the airline to reduce prices, maybe the governments can play a part in terms of the taxes,” Brantley said.

Last year, two studies, one by the Caribbean Development Bank and another by the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States Secretariat recommended reducing or removing airline taxes to spur growth in intra-regional travel.

Regional governments have not accepted the recommendations in the study.

Source: The Antigua Observer