Although the Air Passenger Duty on travellers from the United Kingdom remains an issue negatively impacting on the Caribbean, there may be possible solutions.
According to self-proclaimed Caribbean woman and motivational speaker, Baroness Floella Benjamin, the Caribbean needs to band together to find a resolution to the negative impacts of the Air Passenger Duty.
 |
| Baroness Floella Benjamin. |
“I haven’t had much progress in convincing the Treasury that it has to change; about the damaging effects of the banding system, how it is affecting the Caribbean so badly,” she said.
The Baroness did, however, have an interesting suggestion for the Caribbean that involves being placed in the same band as the United States.
“One suggestion I have put forward is for the whole of the Caribbean to come together and reassign its designated capital city to Hamilton in Bermuda, putting the Caribbean in the same band in the US, which would be fairer. Because it can’t be fair that you can fly to Hawaii for cheaper than you can fly here to Barbados. This can’t be fair and I believe that this is one way of getting around the damaging problem of APD,” Baroness Benjamin stated.
She added that more than ever, the Caribbean needs to act as one body if its voice is to be heard.
“Common sense tells us that when organisations speak as one – one voice – on a policy, they can normally achieve a great deal more than if they act alone and act in isolation…. So now, more than ever, the Caribbean need to be as one, supporting each other, becoming unified, forming partnerships and coming together, whenever, and what ever is possible,” Baroness Benjamin said.
She acknowledged that a lot of collaboration among Caribbean countries is already ongoing, but said that more needs to be done to deepen it, especially through inter-island businesses. (AN)
No comments:
Post a Comment