APD hikes 'will lead to holiday cancellations'

The government's recent increase to the rate of Air Passenger Duty (APD) will significantly dampen future demand for overseas travel, new research has revealed.

A poll for the World Travel Market found that 52 per cent of people who took a holiday this summer now plan to cut back on trips abroad due to the increased burden of APD.

The disappointing news follows Whitehall's decision to ignore a chorus of criticism from within the travel industry and press ahead with hikes to what has been dubbed its 'holiday tax'.

More than 1,000 travellers took part in the new survey, which investigated the impact that new APD charges (see related story) will have on the UK travel industry.

The study found that more than half of all holidaymakers plan to take fewer overseas trips because of the increased rate of taxation. Among the youngest demographic of travellers, 16 to 24-year-olds, that figure rises even higher to a worrying 60 per cent.

And in a separate poll among 459 senior travel industry professionals, almost two thirds (65 per cent) of respondents also said their breaks were up for the chop.

World Travel Market chairman Fiona Jeffery commented: "APD was doubled in 2007 and will more than double again by November 2010, so it's easy to understand why holidaymakers could be put off travelling abroad by yesterday's and next year's increases.

"The World Travel Market survey of holidaymakers found that 13 per cent would not go on holiday next year, with more than half reducing their flying because of the tax."

But this latest research comes in sharp contrast to the recently published American Express Global Foreign Exchange Services Currency Index, which found that even in the midst of the tough economic climate most Brits will still take a summer vacation in 2010.

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