UKinbound, the tourism trade association, has questioned the government’s support for the industry and called for a delay in the new Air Passenger Duty (APD) system.

Philip Green, the organisation’s chair, was speaking at the UKinbound Convention in Manchester when he called into question Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s recent pledge to support tourism.

“They are supporting us by complicating and increasing APD and by extending the reach of VISA costs requirements,” he said. “Is that the kind of support we need?”

He added: “APD adds so much to the cost of a long-haul arrival that any reduction in the currency value will be wiped out. And when the currency is not in our favour, the APD is a huge hindrance. It is some £560 in economy class for a family of four coming from a long-haul destination.”

Green also mentioned a lack of joined up thinking in government, complaining that policies that directly affect tourism where being handled by immigration and transport departments, rather than the DCMS.

He also criticised the government’s recent decision to introduce compulsory visas for visitors to the UK from South Africa, Bolivia and Venezuela, saying: “So now we have more requirement and barriers to entry for genuine tourists at a time when have been asking the government to support the industry with proportionate measures.”

It wasn’t all doom and gloom however, as Green praised the government for its acknowledgment of the importance of tourism, saying it was a “huge step forward”.