General Travel Advice group posting on GLOBOsapiens

NZ bound travellers stung by price hike!

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robynallen Joined: May 08 Points: 403 Posts: 4 Posted: 2008-11-26 11:37:00    Hi. Read in my local New Plymouth paper this morning that the British plan to increase departure tax,(NZ from the UK) by 2010 to a whopping extra $237NZ! This is not good for our tourism industry as britain is one of largest sources of tourists. For a family of four it will add another $1000NZ or so! The British Government are labelling it an environment tax, saying those who fly the furthest with the biggest environmental impact, will have to pay the most. Our airlines are empty as it is and have had to lay off over 200 in the last week! I get the impression that these increases are to counter the VAT cut from 17.5% to 15%! Any comments to this? --- When travelling is in your blood there is always the need to dream of the next place to discover. Dreams lead to goals and goals lead to discovery. Life is all about discovery, so live life to the full and discover your dreams! Reply    Reply with quote    Contact robynallen   davidx Premium account Joined: Dec 04 Points: 34719 Posts: 440 Posted: 2008-11-26 11:37:00    Hi Robyn Good to see you posting to this group. I suppose, being a Brit who has never written off the idea of visiting NZ, I must try to answer. I know that party politics is not encouraged on Globo and I agree with that but the difference between our parties has become much more stark since the pre-budget statement that included this that it is not possible to reply without bias. I think it should be agreed that, however the situation was caused, it is now necessary to balance three things of major importance. The one that screams loudest is the need to try to limit the severity of the recession - which is now being felt in the form of job losses and house repossessions. Since the Government believes this can only be done by an astounding rate of borrowing, to keep any confidence in the currency they have to show how this will be repaid. Last but not least, many believe that the world environment crisis can only be stopped by severe measures now. I think both the last two point in the direction of the increase in air passenger duty geared to distance. Hence I think your understanding is not wrong but perhaps a bit oversimplified. I am prepared to write further if you wish but, unless unexpected objections flow in, I should prefer to correspond by private messages on this subject - several times I have realised that some politicians would think I am terribly biassed, while writing this. Cheers David [edited by davidx at 2008-11-26 11:37] --- Grieve not for that which you cannot do but rejoice in that which you can. Reply    Reply with quote    Contact davidx   robynallen Joined: May 08 Points: 403 Posts: 4 Posted: 2008-11-27 00:51:00    Hi David. Thanks for your perspective on this issue. You are correct in saying that politics are a precarious subject and in times of the credit recession the basic necessities like homes and prices of simple commodities are priority to the leaders of our nations. The privilege of buying an affordable ticket to visit another nation does not seem to be high on the list. I have grown up in a generation and a nation where travel is almost a right of passage and a family occasion and firmly believe we become better human beings for seeing the world. My hope for the future is that my sons will have the same advantages as I have had the luxury of having most of my life. Lets hope that this time of penny pinching puts us in a position of greater appreciation for the things we love to do. Regards Robyn --- When travelling is in your blood there is always the need to dream of the next place to discover. Dreams lead to goals and goals lead to discovery. Life is all about discovery, so live life to the full and discover your dreams! Reply    Reply with quote    Contact robynallen