reprinted from:
Tourism industry critical of $24 security fee for travelers
Copyright 2001
Canada NewsWire Ltd. VANCOUVER - The Council of Tourism Associations of BC (COTA) is expressing deep concern for the Canadian tourism industry in the wake of the federal decision to charge a $24 round trip security fee to the traveling public. For an industry that is working hard to get tourists traveling again, despite the incredible barriers that already exist to traveling post 9-11, particularly by air, this represents a sizeable setback. "One of our key policy initiatives this year has been to address air policy," said Don Monsour, COTA's President. "Without good affordable air service, tourism is BC and in Canada is crippled. Already the traveling public is absorbing the costs of fuel and excise taxes through their tickets, plus Airport Improvement Fees. Then there is GST on top of that. Airline travel is expensive enough without piling more and more government taxes and fees on top of the basic cost of the ticket." The impact of September 11 has demonstrated with extreme clarity how important tourism is to the economy. In response to the crisis, the federal government allocated a one-time infusion of $15 million to the Canadian Tourism Commission to entice Canadians to take their vacations in Canada. This positive move is offset by the requirement of paying this involuntary security fee, which will actually act as a deterrent to flying. In other words, nullifying the good done by the CTC funding. "Aviation security is a national security cost and should not be downloaded to the airports or the consumer," said Mary Mahon Jones, COTA's CEO. "The federal government is already the beneficiary of rents, taxes and fees extracted from the industry. For example, Canada's airports pay $260 million to the federal treasury, while only $40 million is paid back out in airport capital assistance programs. The federal government cannot expect to continue to treat the industry as a cash cow and to further expect the traveling public to contribute 100% plus to running a national security agency."
COTA calls on the Canadian government to reverse this policy immediately to
protect a $54 billion industry nationally, and a $9.5 billion
industry in BC. The Council of Tourism Associations is the voice of the BC
tourism industry, representing 42 tourism
organizations and businesses in the province. |
