The Republic of Ireland will ditch the €3 (R40) per passenger air travel tax and leave the hospitality sector’s 9% VAT rate unchanged.
In Northern Ireland, domestic air passenger tax is £13 (R207) per passenger.
Ryanair has responded positively to the announcement, highlighting that since the travel tax was introduced in January 2009, traffic at the main Irish airports had declined from 30,5 million passengers in 2008 to 23,5 million in 2012.
In a statement, the airline says: “Ryanair believes that much of this traffic can now be recovered thanks to the abolition of the travel tax, which makes Ireland a more competitive and attractive destination for inbound visitors.”
Tourism Ireland has also welcomed the news, emphasising how the 9% VAT rate and zero travel tax will be a boost for tourism.
Ireland’s minister for the department of transport, tourism and sport, Leo Varadkar, says it is hugely significant to the tourism industry that the VAT rate remains at 9%. He adds: “I welcome the scrapping of the travel tax as part of a process to generate new airline routes into Ireland. This represents a further boost for Irish tourism and local economies.”
