On August 24, small and medium sized entrepreneurs and individuals whose businesses cater to the visitor experience are encouraged to attend a town hall meeting to learn more about the Tourism Investment Act.

The meeting will take place at the Bermuda Economic Development Corporation’s St. George’s Economic Empowerment Zone Hub at 6.00 p.m., and will be hosted by the Minister of Tourism and the Cabinet Office, Vance Campbell. The BEDC Hub is located at 11 Water Street, Upper Floor, St. George’s, and space is limited.

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The public will recall that the recently amended Tourism Investment Act provides a range of incentives and benefits for new and existing restaurants, visitor excursions and attractions, and cultural and artistic activities.

While next week’s stakeholder engagement meeting is targeted towards entrepreneurs, interested members of the public are also invited to attend to learn more about the Tourism Investment Act.

Last month Minister Campbell sat down with the BEDC to highlight the incentives. The conversation can be found here: Minister Vance Campbell BEDC discussion.

As a reminder, the Act provides the following levels of relief:

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.

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.