The International Air Transport Association (IATA) opposes the UK Home Office’s proposal to raise UK Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) fees by 60%, from GBP 10 to GBP 16. IATA warns this increase could deter international visitors and harm the UK’s tourism and travel industry.

Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General, criticized the hike as unjustified and urged the government to focus on facilitating travel rather than creating barriers. IATA also called for transparency and meaningful consultations with industry stakeholders, emphasizing the need to balance security measures with affordable travel options.

Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General, commented as follows: “Proposing to increase ETA costs just a week after the system was introduced is bewildering. If implemented it would be a self-inflicted blow to the UK’s tourism competitiveness. In November the government laid out plans to increase tourist arrivals by 30% to reach 50 million annually by 2030 in pursuit of tourism’s economic benefits. Gouging these travelers with a 60% increase in the ETA is a very bad start. The added cost would come on top of the Air Passenger Duty (APD)—the biggest travel tax in the world—which itself will increase again in April. And let’s not forget that travelers have choice and the EU’s ETIAS will be far better value—costing about a third as much as this proposed pricing and lasting a year longer.

It’s time for the UK government to see the big picture. It has everything to gain by making the UK a more cost-competitive travel destination—including the substantial tax revenues that travelers generate. It makes no sense to discourage visitors with high costs even before they set foot in the country.”

UK aviation and tourism supports 1.6 million jobs currently, providing USD 160.7 billion to the UK’s GDP. Please see the IATA Value of Air Transport to the United Kingdom study for further details.

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