The increase in Air Passenger Duty (APD) announced in today’s Pre Budget Report has been condemned by the British tourism industry – which claims the Chancellor “either does not understand the fragile nature of tourism demand or he does not care”.

“This is gesture politics of the worst kind. The Chancellor has dealt a severe blow to the inbound tourism industry of the UK just to score points with the environmental lobby,” said UKInbound chief executive Stephen Dowd.

“This tax increase will do nothing to reduce global carbon emissions as the money raised will disappear into the Treasury’s coffers rather than go to projects that address climate change. So rather than the environment benefiting from the increase in APD, the main beneficiary will be the overseas destinations that visitors will go to instead of coming to Britain.

“Econometric modelling has consistently shown that an increase in the cost of aviation will disproportionately impact upon overseas visitors to the UK, who generate £13bn in foreign exchange for the UK economy and support over 300,000 jobs.

“The announcement of a doubling of this tax is completely inconsistent for a Chancellor who claims to support the growth and development of UK businesses.”

Policy director of the Tourism Alliance, Kurt Janson, added: “The Stern Report on Climate Change and the Eddington Report on Transport both state that the proper way to mitigate the impact of travel on the environment is by including aviation in the European Union’s Emissions Trading Scheme. This is the approach that the Tourism Alliance supports and will pursue.”

“Tourism needs a fiscal environment that will encourage inward investment to improve the range and quality of the products we offer,” said Dowd.

“This is particularly important in this crucial period leading up to the London 2012 Olympic Games, but today the Chancellor has demonstrated that he either does not understand the fragile nature of tourism demand or he does not care.”