easyJet warning to Spain, Greece and Tunisia tourists as holidays to cost 'hundreds' more

The boss of the travel firm hit out at extra charges in some places

Holidays to popular destinations are becoming 'hundreds of pounds' more expensive, the boss of easyJet has warned. Chief executive Garry Wilson hit out over environmental fees introduced in some hotspots.

Failing to demonstrate a 'direct link' between the money raised and sustainability schemes would reduce bookings, he said. Spain, Greece and Tunisia are among locations popular with UK tourists which charge green taxes or plan to introduce them.

In an interview at the annual convention of travel trade organisation Abta, Mr Wilson said many destinations which suffered huge losses due to coronavirus travel restrictions decided tourists should pay 'this fee and that fee and the next fee'. Speaking in Costa Navarino, Greece, he said: "They're named the 'green tax' or 'climate resilience' or whatever it might be.

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"While I understand the ethos, (we need to) understand what you're doing with that money." Mr Wilson said it would be 'understandable' if taxes were introduced with a 'direct link' to initiatives such as installing systems that automatically switch off air-conditioning and electric sockets when hotel rooms are empty.

But he said if the revenue simply 'goes into a big pot', holidaymakers will think 'this is just a way to get more money out of me'. Mr Wilson said taxes were 'going up and up and up when it comes to travel'.

He added: "There has to be real thought put into what impact this is going to have on demand. The way it's being treated at the moment by a lot of destinations isn't necessarily helping build confidence and demand."

A survey commissioned by Abta indicated 38 per cent of people believed it was the responsibility of travel companies to manage the impact holidays had on the environment and residents. It found 22 per cent disagreed with the statement, while 40 per cent were neutral.

The poll also indicated the most common areas of concerns about the impact of holidays were the preservation of culture and heritage, waste and plastic pollution, and the welfare of animals. Abta chief executive Mark Tanzer said: "The ultimate goal for travel is to have great places to visit that are also great places to live.

"If a destination intends to introduce a visitor charge as part of its tourism management, it needs to make clear how that money is going back to support the community and local people. Otherwise, these charges will only serve to add costs to consumers, without addressing the tourism issues important to local residents."

The survey of a nationally representative sample of 2,000 UK adults was carried out by The Nursery Research and Planning between July 24 and August 2.