Poll: 56 Percent of UK Travelers Still Unaware of Air Passenger Duty

Poll: 56 Percent of UK Travelers Still Unaware of Air Passenger Duty

As UK airlines rally together to combat any increases in APD, a poll by leading travel search site Skyscanner reveals that 56 percent of UK travelers are still unaware of Air Passenger Duty (APD).

Of those who know what APD is, only 7 percent say that it plays ‘an important role’ in their travel decisions, suggesting that most Britons’ travel plans will remain unaffected by changes to the new distance-based tax banding due to be announced in a Government statement on 29 November.

The poll of almost 1000 UK travelers found that 21 percent consider the new tax but it claims that is ‘not a key factor’ when making travel destination decisions. A further 18 percent state that while it might impact their budget it would not put them off where they would want to go– however whether this will still be true if the Government decides to backdate the passenger duty to include flights already booked for beyond April 2012, remains to be seen.

While it appears UK travelers remain largely unfazed by the potential tax rise, there are fears that foreign tourists may be put off visiting Britain due to the tax, a major risk to take in a year that sees iconic events including the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and London 2012 take place.