Says High Taxes And Fees May Persuade Travelers To Choose Other Destinations

In remarks at a Caribbean tourism event in Curacao, JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes raised a warning that high taxes and other fees may have travelers not choosing certain destinations in the Caribbean for their vacations.

In March, the Government of Bermuda increased airport taxes and charges from $35 to $50, and then boosted the "departure tax" again in August to $78, which includes a $16 airport improvement fee, according to a report from The Royal Gazette. Bermuda ranks second only to Jamaica as having the highest taxes and fees for JetBlue passengers traveling from JFK Airport in New York, according to Hayes.

Hayes was the keynote speaker at the Caribbean Tourism Organization’s State of the Industry Conference. He said that U.S. and Caribbean taxes and fees can add $150 or more to the cost of a vacation.

In a statement, the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA) said: “If a passenger has a budget of $300 per ticket, according to Hayes’ reasoning and other factors being equal, the airline would be more inclined to serve those destinations that deliver far better yields for a given airfare.”

The CHTA said that the fee and tax structure highlighted by Hayes is " prompting some countries to re-examine their air transportation policies as it would appear to be counterproductive to add taxes to airline tickets making the destination less competitive, then paying those taxes out again in revenue guarantees to attract airlines.

“The matter is compounded in the region by a broad range of landing, ground handling and fuel costs that vary widely from country to country. Some conclude that it would be more productive to lower ticket prices and airline handling charges to make their destination more attractive and retain promotional funds to promote those more attractive airfares.”

FMI:  www.onecaribbean.org, www.caribbeanhotelassociation.com