Global travel leaders blast Britain's green departure tax

London: Global tourism leaders have slammed the British government for slapping a "green" tax on passengers departing from British airports, as the industry debates its green tourism objectives ahead of the Copenhagen summit next month.

The issue could be the possible reason behind the country's decision to leave the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).

The UK government has been criticised for its "green" decision to raise departure taxes by up to $400 (Dh1,469).

The British air travel tax for economy passengers was raised from £40 ($95) for long-haul travel to £60 ($142) this month and will be raised to £85 ($201) in 2010. "This tax is anti-development. The British government has to get the message clear," Taleb Rifai, secretary-general of the UNWTO, told reporters at a briefing.

Resistance call

"Taxes at this moment of economic recession [are] totally wrong. We must resist these environment taxes — proceeds from which do not go to environment projects — so that other governments do not use these as an excuse to follow suit."

Explaining the benefits of tourism for the world's poor, he stressed tourism's role in the voluntary transfer of funds from the haves to have-nots .

"These new taxes are going to be counter-productive and definitely anti-development," he reiterated.

The tourism sector accounts for 5 per cent of global emissions, mostly from the aviation sector.

"The aviation industry has to change like the other sectors," he said.

A report commissioned by the University College London and the Lancet has concluded that climate change was the biggest global health threat of the century and that the poor would be the worst affected. Climate change is already resulting in an annual death toll equivalent to the Boxing Day tsunami, Fiona Jeffery, chairwoman of the World Travel Market, the premier global event for the travel industry, said.

Quoting figures from the Global Humanitarian Forum, she said climate change accounts for more than 300,000 deaths each year. With the crucial UN climate change conference starting in Copenhagen on December 7, the UNWTO Ministers Summit that took place here at World Travel Market was vital, Jeffery said.

"It's a last chance to discuss these critical issues and to help governments prepare to address the pressing challenges of climate change and its disastrous effects on travel and tourism," she said.

"It's no exaggeration to say that the eyes of the industry — and the world — will be waiting with bated breath to see the outcome.

"Failure is not an option but, from all that I have read and know, the outcome at this moment is far from certain."

Jeffery pointed to the Maldives and Antarctica as two regions under severe threat from global warming which could see sea levels rise by as much as a metre within the next century.

"International travel and tourism is beginning to take responsibility and making real efforts to improve its sustainability, not only for our sake but that of future generations," Jeffery added.

"Paradise countries like the Maldives could indeed be lost forever," she said.

"So I do hope that the time spent here today at the UNWTO Ministers Summit is well spent, because there is little doubt that time is running out."