A report by the New Economics Foundation and the World Development Movement argues that increased air travel and tourism leaves UK taxpayers out of pocket and benefits multinational tour operators and hotel chains rather than poor people.
It argues too that, as the fastest-rising source of emissions in the UK, aviation is a significant contributor to climate change that threatens the survival of some of the world's poorest communities least responsible for causing the problem.
The report opposes prevailing arguments in favour of aviation based tourism as follows:
- Cheap air fares do not "democratise" foreign travel as the wealthier in our society still fly more and use budget flights more than poor people.
- Tourism does little to benefit the developing world because the vast majority of British tourists travel to short haul destinations like Spain or France, or industrialised countries such as the United States, while only nine per cent of UK tourists go to the developing world. When tourists do visit the developing world, up to 75 pence in every £1 spent goes straight into the pockets of multinational hotel chains and tour operators, not to the local economy. Evidence from Kenya, Thailand and the Dominican Republic suggests that if the growth in UK aviation was halted, the impact of lost revenue would represent less than one per cent of GDP. And, for the Maldives, where the contribution of tourism to the economy has been more significant, the Islands very survival is under threat from rising sea-levels.
- Aviation does not strengthen the UK economy. According to WDM calculations, £10.4 billion was lost to the Exchequer in 2007 as the result of tax exemptions for the airline industry. It says that this is more than twice the £5 billion needed to ensure that every home in Britain is properly insulated, helping to combat both climate change and fuel poverty.
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