A MOVE by the UK Government to increase the recently launched Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) by 60% has been labelled a “staggering blow” to future visitation by the country’s peak inbound tourism body.
“There is a false assumption that international visitors will continue to choose the UK, even if we hike up prices,” UKinbound CEO Joss Croft pointed out.
“International tourism is a competitive industry and the two key motivators to visit a destination are value for money and the quality of welcome – this move damages our standing on both fronts,” he added.
Croft also took aim at the impact that hiking the ETA fee – which currently sets Australian visitors back 10 (A$19.60) – will have on the broader UK economy.
“Charging international travellers more to visit the UK only harms the growth potential of our fifth-largest export sector, international tourism to the UK, which is currently outperforming the wider UK economy,” he said.
The UK tourism body warned that international arrivals will preference other European destinations over the UK, with the upcoming Electronic Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) costing half the price of the ETA and offering more destination value.
ETIAS launches later this year and offers entry to 29 Schengen countries, and is free for over 70s and under 18s.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) also lashed the UK Govt plan, characterising the proposal to raise the cost of the ETA, just a week after being introduced, as “bewildering”.
“In Nov, the UK Government laid out plans to increase tourist arrivals by 30% to reach 50 million annually by 2030 in pursuit of tourism’s economic benefits, but gouging these travellers…would be a very bad start,” IATA Director General Willie Walsh said.
“The added cost would come on top of the Air Passenger Duty – the biggest travel tax in the world – which itself will increase again in Apr,” he added.
Following feedback from the aviation industry, the government has agreed to a temporary exemption for passengers who transit airside, and do not pass through UK border control.
No date for the rise has been announced, and still requires parliamentary approval. AB
