GA Tourism In The Islands Has Declined 22 Percent Since 2007

The reported end of the recession in 2009 has not meant an increase in aviation tourism in the Bahamas, particularly by those flying their GA airplanes to the islands. In fact, GA tourism has suffered a 22 percent decline over the past several years, according to Jim Parker, president of CaribbeanFlyingAdventures.com.

Parker told Tribune Business that a Value Added Tax (VAT) has caused fuel taxes to nearly double in the islands. Then, there's a $50 "each way" arrival and departure tax, and an additional tax of $29 for each passenger on board a private airplane.

The number of tourists arriving by private airplane has fallen from 106,499 in 2007 to 83,237 in 2013, according to official statistics obtained by Parker. And while the decline is not particularly significant when you consider the more than 5 million tourists that visit the Bahamas each year, those that fly in aboard private airplanes are known to be among the "highest-yielding" stopover spenders. Parker argues that the government should do what it can to encourage them to visit, not make it more difficult through higher taxes.

According to Parker, avgas in the Bahamas costs about $7 per gallon, 57 cents per gallon of which was tax before the VAT. The VAT, he told the paper, adds 52-53 cents to the taxes paid by pilots on each gallon of gas, making the total tax burden about $1.10 per gallon. 

Parker says that the taxes have killed day trips to the islands. He said private pilots are "avoiding the Bahamas in droves" because of the high tax burden. "Thousands of pilots who used to fly to the Bahamas for day trips with four people in the aircraft now face $166 in airport fees plus an additional 7.5 per cent in fuel taxes," he said.

Parker says that destinations like the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, the Cayman Islands, and even Mexico are working to keep fees low to attract that kind of business. "The Bahamas needs to wake up and recognize the importance of private aviation tourism. It needs to reverse the harmful tax and fee increases of the past five years or continue to loss more millions in tourism revenues and tax collections," Parker told the paper.

FMI: www.caribbeanflyingadventures.com/