
The hospitality industry, airline operators, and regional travellers are demanding lower and more affordable rates for regional travel.
Concerns about tax rates that raise prices for regional travellers throughout the islands have reached a tipping point. A regional airline expert is advocating for immediate standardisation and decisive action to streamline processes and decrease the high price of regional travel.

Colin Piper, consultant for Sunrise Airways, emphasizes that airlines, including his own, are fully committed to creating an “ease of transportation” for business and leisure travellers throughout the sub-region.
Sunrise Airways operates in the Northern Caribbean and has lately expanded its services to the Eastern Caribbean, where three airlines serve six sub-regional nations at least once or twice a week.
Regarding the most recent trvel trends, Piper emphasises the strong interest between Saint Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), adding that citizens have totally embraced this carrier.
“It’s not just Sunrise Airways; all regional airlines are rightly concerned about the crippling taxes on airline travel throughout the region,” he said at a recent press conference marking the launch of Mas Domnik 2025.
“We are clear that by reducing taxes and fees, we will see increased travel volume-leading to heightened economic activity across the region,” says Piper.
Piper further stated that the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Secretariat have already initiated significant interventions that would provide more conclusive information on this serious subject.
“It is a critical concern,” he remarked. “All parties must work within existing frameworks, but we understand that if airlift pricing were adjusted downwards, it would undeniably encourage more travel.”
When questioned about airline interconnection, Piper boldly responded that Sunrise Airways is actively seeking relationships with other airlines. He shared the following example: “If you’re travelling from Saint Lucia to Tortola, we can get you to Antigua and seamlessly connect you with another airline to reach Tortola.”
He made clear, “This is a strategic priority for Sunrise Airways: establishing interline agreements with regional carriers to enhance travel options for OECS passengers.”
According to reports, the Caribbean Development Bank conducted a thorough examination of regional air travel, focussing on the negative impact of taxes and levies on airfare. Their data show that excessive taxes and levies contribute disproportionately to high airfares, even for short trips.
Furthermore, the CDB has proposed specific policy suggestions aimed at lowering air travel expenses.
Findings: High taxes and fees
– Taxes and fees can account for up to 50% of airfare in the Caribbean.
Intraregional Travel:
– Intra-regional flights incur greater taxes and fees than extra-regional flights.
Structural challenges:
– The high cost of air travel is due to ongoing structural challenges in the aviation industry.
Recommendations:
- Lowering aviation taxes will facilitate more affordable travel.
- Reduce airport charges to improve airline operations in tough markets.
- Investing in aviation infrastructure improves air connectivity.
- Liberalising air services can boost competition and result in reduced airfares.
Furthermore, Kaieteur News, a regional website, noted that the regional aviation business is facing major commercial issues that have disrupted travel across the region, making it prohibitively expensive and burdened by hefty taxes.
The CDB strongly believes that decreasing aviation taxes, in addition to enacting significant policy reforms, is critical for improving industry efficiency and regulations. This method is more than just a financial adjustment; it is an important aspect in growing each country’s GDP and employment rate. The CDB’s strategy plan for “Air Transport Competitiveness and Connectivity” emphasises the importance of air connectivity for regional development.
Many Caribbean nations rely significantly on tourism, thus any downturn in the aviation sector will have a direct impact on their economy.
While the aviation sector in the Caribbean accounts for only 5% of foreign tourism arrivals, it provides more than 15% of Caribbean GDP.
While the number of foreign flights in the aviation sector has increased, intra-regional travel has decreased significantly. This might have a significant impact on regional airlines.
Furthermore, recent research showed that regional travel taxes are among the highest in the world. The association between high intra-regional travel taxes and a lack of intra-regional travellers was clearly demonstrated.
According to the Caribbean Insight newspaper, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has cautioned Caribbean countries that they risk pricing themselves out of the global tourism industry. About three years ago, government ministers, industry experts, and top aviation executives convened in the Cayman Islands for Caribbean Aviation Day, with the theme “Recover, Reconnect, Revive,” to debate important regional concerns and explore growth prospects.
With global passenger air traffic now at 74.6% of pre-COVID levels, IATA Vice President for the Americas, Peter Cerdá, stated that Caribbean locations are “running the risk of pricing themselves out of the global travel and tourism market, where passengers have more choices than ever before.”
Cerdá stated that one reoccurring issue is the taxes and charges put on aviation. He admitted that maintaining proper aviation infrastructure has a cost, but remarked that it is frequently difficult to see the link between the expenditures and levies levied and the actual services supplied.
He emphasised that, while taxes and fees account for around 15% of the total ticket price worldwide, in the Caribbean, this figure is closer to 30% on average, with some destinations accounting for up to 50%. In comparison, countries like Lima, Peru, and Cancun, Mexico, as well as other adjacent beach resorts, have taxes and fees that account for only 23% of the ticket price, making the Caribbean a less desirable destination.
In summary, players in the regional hotel business must act now to implement the required reforms for a more competitive and accessible regional airline industry.