Responding to news that the UK is hiking its air passenger duty (APD) on long-haul flights, readers have said the extra price hikes should not be seen as a major barrier to travelling to South Africa.

However, cautioned Alex Walters: “I just hope that extra revenue will be used for carbon offsetting.”

Tourism Update reader, known only as Westir, agreed, saying: “Agree 100% and I think this is the future. Long-haul air travel perhaps needs to be targeted. These amounts are not significant and won't have any impact on demand in my view.

“This is the same Willie Walsh who refused to entertain an extra £1 on all fares to offer consumers protection for airline failures, costing the taxpayer hundreds of millions – he's an airline man through and through. BUT, we need to be confident that the extra tax is used for the purposes that it is purported to be used for, not just swallowed up into the overall taxation income as a stealth tax, and I'm not convinced!”