Minister for Tourism Ian Douglas has weighed-in on Britain’s decision to increase its Air Passenger Duty (APD) and maintain considerably higher rates for Caribbean destinations.
Douglas said this will hurt tourism in Dominica and in the Caribbean, and it’s “really unfortunate.”
Despite lobby efforts by the region, the United Kingdom Government has said it will increase the APD by 10 percent from April 2012.
“That in itself will make the cost of a ticket higher for persons traveling from England to the Caribbean on a holiday,” Douglas said.
Being based on geographical distance, the APD makes it cheaper for passengers from the UK for instance, to travel longer distances, than to Caribbean countries.
The Caribbean Tourism Organization has described Britain’s decision on the APD, as a slap in the face for the Caribbean.
Even some of Britain’s biggest airlines have criticized the decision to leave the tax unchanged. They have warned that it is damaging prospects for economic recovery.
It’s time to change this tune, tonneer!
You know,…I am in a very controversial mood; so people come now,let us reason together….Take a good look at this face in the photo, don’t that face look very much like a Prime Minister’s face?..eh?…Isn’t he looking more like the PM ?..Yes,I say because I am from Ville Case….That face has PM written all over it…That,people,is the face of a Leader.
I say Ian for PM….Portsmouth people, are you with me?….How about Ville Case?…Yes?….No?…..
Hea,hea,Hea.hea, hea….Boy I love controversy…..
What? I like nonsense?…Allu must bite….
I recogneze that face and it’s such a shame that this man is tourism minister of Dominica. I have been a frequent reader of dominica news online because my ex-wife is from dominica and on my most recent visit to Dominica for the funeral of Jeff Joe, I happend to be at a restaurant in Portsmouth with some friends all of us from the mainland usa. while there, we ran into this man who looked familier. now i realized where we knew him from. we had seen his face on dominica news online. while there, we walk up to him and said that he had looked so familier. I mean this man was so rude to us. so un-approachable. all he said to us was that “you do not know me and i am a nobody”. we were tourist visiting your islands yet indirectly you try to make yourself into a rock star.
shame on you. you are not dominica according to your new tourism campagne slogan.
we still believe that the PM of dominica is the most brilliant in the caribbean even if you do not represent the slogan “I AM DOMINICA”
JUST SO U KNOW WE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO MEET THE PM AND WHAT A DOWN TO EARTH BEING, UNLIKE YOU MR. MINISTER OF TOURISM.
You just don’t know this Man (The minister of tourism), you c that is the thing about all you when you come back all u think that all u is “IT”,U look for every opportunity to criticize but what you all need to focus on is the fact the we are forced by You so called “AMERICAN”to accept Aids form AID.You all call yourself first world people and you all cannot even abide by the great book because of personal greed and satisfaction.Don’t bring that b*LL to us.
Kalifah, you didn’t miss much. Man tell you the truth!
me nuh like man so do watch me
the minister of tourism should be fired.
tourist season is in full swing and no criuse ships??
this guy should be fired.
wats wrong with them people, i cannot understant wat a man sees behind a nother man or a womam with a woman thats is so so wrong we just cannot accept that from the british .we the people of the caribbean will still survive .
I hate to say it but we should’ve have seen this coming and maybe deserve it. The British has never cared about our interests. From slavery to now. Yet we still unable to emancipate ourselves, so long after, still waiting for handouts from them. Canada has been a big brother to us, with the maximum of our bilateral relations in our favor and yet we choose to pursue more vigorously an EPA with the EU (which will only serve to crush our economy and bring us further in to economic slavery as opposed to an FTA with Canada that balances in our favour.
Why can’t some people stick to the issue at hand. The subject is about APD and the impact it will have on travelling passengers to the caribbean, NOT ABOUT GAYS. There is no link.
I proposed that DA and the other caribbean islands as members of the commonwealth discuss and put their case forward. Strength in numbers is the way forward.
I agree with you to a certain extent. The manner in which some of the comments are written are simply not complimentary to intelligent discussion. While Ian and the government does not have control over the APD from the UK we must not shy away from the fact that the government is carrying a “U” –ungraded score on tourism. Essential the performance of tourism sector is abysmal. The UK APD is just a road bump beyond or direct control however we have not done anything worthy of recognition that would allow us to get pass the speed bumps that we do have control off. I sincerely hope that we would deal with all the realities not just use uncontrollable issues such as the UK APD to validate or excuse the underperformance of the government.
The UK arline companies are trying extremely hard to get the govt to remove APD. British Airways announced that it will not after all be employing 400 additional staff because APD is choking off demand. The other airlines have also been campaigning for it to be abolished. Holland and some other european countries have got rid of it and flight sales have improved afterwards.
So papa bodie, so Cameron and Obama telling us the men have to sleep with men and woman with woman so that we can get aid and AIDS.
Britian punishing the Caribbean for its anti-gay stance at the Commonwealth summit in October.
There is more to come. See what Obama said the other day on this gay thing? Soon it is going to be the EU.
I want to hear those who have been criticising Dominica for asking assistance from China and Venezuela and so on.
I dont condone BULLERISM, But I know what is my meat of choice…..I am NO homophobic. I can see how those who have Low self esteem and who are easily mislead are apprehensive to this law. easy to know, if u catch urself sometimes with your hand like a chicken zell maybe u need to check ur hormones. I have no curiousity about another mans butthole so come with the change man damnit. NOW WE WILL SEE WHO IS REALLLLLYYY MAN!!!!! LOLOLOLLOOLOOLLOLOLO
This comment seems to come from a gay man disguised as a strait man….there is no reason for changing any anti gay laws to prove anything. In these parts of the world we believe in biblical teachings and moral values. I have children growing up here in Dominica and I do not want them to think that these abnormal and devient behaviors should be accepted as the norm.
Whether we decide to continue to ban buggery (not homosexuality) or decide to change our laws, bending from the pressures of our imperial masters, should not be decided on a Christian or biblical basis, but in the context of the practical benefits doing so or not has on our nation. The times when state and church were one should have existed in feudal days, its a shame that we still can’t move past that today.
as usual, If you show any form of tolerance you are labelled as “THE ENEMY”. In the name of the most high I will not plant the litmus test for being gay on your innocent wife, so we will leave her out of this….rest assured sir/mam, which ever you are. I have a very close relationship with my kids, and though they are young I train them up in the way they ought to live, and I am hoping that when they grow up they will not depart from it.. I cultivate their self esteem and ensure that they do not become followers, do the same for your kids and im sure they will be ok. remember Lot had virgin daughters in Sodom???
In other words make it legal so people wont be afraid to show their real colors, interesting point. You may be suprise who on which side.
Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Venezuela. The age of consent is equal at 16. this quote is taken from wikipedia.com so i guess u still barking up the wrong tree.lol
Same sex is legal in Venezuela but they not forcing us to accept it in order for them to give us some aid. lol……so who is barking up the wrong tree. lmfao
the point i was bringing across is that these countries have acceded to some of the pressures of the un among others which means that they have already bowed themselves in some regard . to gain market access and other benefits these countries moved away from principle. i believe that dominica as a country should hold its position and trust in God for as he said “none of my sheep shall beg bread.” just saying we need to be more self reliant and not just place blind faith in receiving from other countries….lmfao2
Homosexuality has been legal in the mainland PRC since 1997; it was removed from the Ministry of Health’s list of mental illnesses in 2001. Same-sex unions and adoptions are not legal, and there are no anti-discrimination laws.
this one is from wikipedia on china gays are also legal there.
pa pa well britain like their macoomes papa not in dominica we doh want those kind of business there. nastiness