Taxes, fees, and charges (TFC) account for 40 percent of current prices, the publication noted and estimated a noticeable boost to travels in the area if that value were lower.

In 2019, more than 20,000 Caribbean citizens and the diaspora signed a petition asking the bloc’s leaders to review the Deposit Insurance Fund regime on intra-regional travels and take steps to reduce the high taxes applied, it recalled.

So far, it stressed, there has been no response to the tens of thousands of citizens who have tried to make their voices heard on how counterproductive this issue is for the connectivity, growth, and productivity of the economies.

The average annual hotel occupancy rate in the region is 60 percent, which means that in a 100-room facility, 40 are continuously empty, he noted.

As part of our strategic plan, we continue to focus on improving regional connectivity,’ Caribbean Airlines Ltd (CAL) told the Trinidad Express newspaper.

The text stated its satisfaction with this approach because the issue ‘is important for regional prosperity,’ it remarked.

It called on the Government of Trinidad and Tobago to take the initiative and reduce the 40 percent TFC on airline tickets in the region.

Such bold action will help provide support to Caricom in achieving its primary objective of promoting ‘economic integration and cooperation among its members,’ it stressed.

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