Tourist bosses in the Pacific region have raised grave concerns over the negative impact of the UK government's proposed further increase in Air Passenger Duty (APD), scheduled for November this year, calling the tax 'ill conceived and draconian'.

Tourism is among the top three income generators for most countries in the Pacific region and is the top sector for employment in almost all of them. Long haul tourism contributes significant numbers and the industry fears that this segment is at considerable risk because of the planned increase.

The Pacific Tourism Leaders' Forum (PTLF) calculates that a family of four travelling from the UK to any destination in Band D - a distance of 6,000 statute miles or above - will now be faced with a travel bill up by more than £250 since January 2007.

Matt Hingerty, managing director of the Australian Tourism Export Council and a member of the PTLF said: "The UKAPD has raised alarm bells across the region's tourism sector. The tax is politically motivated and is clearly the result of poor policy making.

"It is difficult to understand that a global economic power such as the UK could act with such insensitivity. This draconian tax serves only to generate revenue with absolutely no benefit to the environment that it purports to protect."

Pic: Te Manga, Rarotonga