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July 16th, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda - Flash
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Qantas planes on the tarmac at Sydney International Airport…the airline has indicated the tax will add an average $3.50 to domestic fares. Photo: AFP
Source: AFP
THE UN head of tourism says the carbon tax should be used to make travel more efficient, not price tourists out of the market.
UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) secretary general Taleb Rifai said revenue from the tax on aviation should be invested in harnessing and promoting green travel.
The recently introduced carbon tax is imposed on domestic aviation in Australia. The airlines are charged $23 per tonne of carbon dioxide they emit and this is passed on to passengers.
Qantas has indicated the tax will add an average $3.50 to domestic fares.
Mr Rifai acknowledges the delicate relationship between the environment and tourism, which is a substantial contributor to carbon pollution, but says taxes must be balanced.
“Taxes that simply are meant to make people travel less and discourage people from travelling are defeating the point,” Mr Rifai told AAP today.
“It’s not a realistic goal to say we want to impose more taxes on the environment so that people will travel less.
“What we need to aim for is to have more people being able to travel in a more efficient way and in a way that is reducing the harm on the environment, and that is a challenge.”
Addressing a tourism and events conference in Melbourne, Mr Rifai said unreasonable taxation on travel was one of the obstacles affecting global international tourism, along with complicated and overpriced visa formalities.
He said climate change – together with the fragile world economy – was also a major challenge for tourism, which contributed about five per cent of the world’s carbon footprint.
At the same time, the industry had much to lose from the degradation of the natural environment, he said.
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