Govt: Learn More About Tourism Investment Act
The Government is encouraging “existing restaurants, visitor excursions and attractions, and cultural sites and artistic activities that cater to the tourism experience” to learn more about the amended Tourism Investment Act [TIA] 2017.
A Government spokesperson said, “The public is reminded that the Minister of Tourism and the Cabinet Office, Vance Campbell is currently engaging directly with industry partners to highlight the benefits of the TIA 2017.
“Most recently, the Minister sat down with the Bermuda Economic Development Corporation [BEDC] to highlight the incentives.
“Upcoming stakeholder engagement meetings are being planned with the BTA and the Chamber of Commerce and another BEDC meeting is scheduled for late August for businesses and local entrepreneurs in the East End.
“As a reminder, some of the recent amendments in the Act provide relief for new or existing restaurants or attractions:
- 1. For a new restaurant – Increasing the period of full relief from customs duty from the commencement of the tourism investment order from three to a period not exceeding five years; Increasing the period of full exemption from the employer’s share of payroll tax from three to a period not exceeding five years from the restaurant’s opening date.
- 2. For an existing restaurant – Increasing the period of full relief from customs duty from the commencement of the tourism investment order from one to a period not exceeding three years.
- 3. For an attraction – Increasing the period of full relief from customs duty from the commencement of the tourism investment order from three years to a period not exceeding five years.”
Minister Campbell said, “Our message is simple. Bermuda’s tourism industry is vital to our economic success. The Government understands and appreciates that it can sometimes be difficult owning and operating a business in the tourism space. But we’re putting things in place to help. Our amendments to the Tourism Investment Act 2017, provides a range of relief and benefits for new and existing restaurants and visitor attractions.
“Last week [July 13], I had the opportunity to chat with the BEDC on the topic of Revitalizing Bermuda: The Role of the Tourism Investment Act. It was a chance for me to share how the Tourism Investment Act is reshaping the tourism scene by enhancing development and turning Bermuda into an even more enchanting destination for our visitors.
“We’re determined to support our local businesses and entrepreneurs. And we’ll continue to have direct discussions with the key stakeholders in this space so that they can understand how to benefit from the Tourism Investment Act 2017.”
The spokesperson said, “Interested businesses, particularly small and medium sized businesses [this includes restaurants and visitor attractions] should email tourisminvestmentact2017@gov.bm or go to www.gov.bm/tourisminvestmentact2023 to learn more.”
