Government 'ignoring' impact of aviation tax Ricky Skerritt, the chairman of the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO), accused the Government of ignoring evidence which he says highlights the negative impact of the tax on both the UK and Caribbean economies. "No other tax is having the same negative impact as APD and the UK government, despite numerous research papers and briefings, is simply not listening," he told delegates at the annual Caribbean Tourism Summit in Jamaica. Caribbean economies are particularly reliant on tourism, and the CTO has repeatedly called for APD to be reduced. It also claims that APD unfairly targets Caribbean countries. The rate of APD paid by travellers is calculated according to the distance from London to the destination country's capital city. Under this system, those travelling to Jamaica, for example, around 4,500 miles from London, pay more in APD than those travelling to Hawaii, which is more than 7,000 miles from the capital. David Scowsill, president of the World Travel and Tourism Council, also criticised the tax. "We now have empirical economic research that shows this tax costs the UK 91,000 jobs and could add £4.2bn to the economy if it were withdrawn from its astronomical levels," he said. This week British travellers were urged to email their local MP over escalating APD. A Fair Tax on Flying, an alliance of more than 30 airlines and tour operators, has launched a new website which it hopes will encourage at least 100,000 Britons to register their opposition to the tax. So far more than 2,000 people have added their names. Visitors to the website, afairtaxonflying.org, must enter their postcode, name and email address. A template email is then automatically sent to their MP expressing disapproval at the "unacceptable" level of APD paid by travellers flying from Britain.