Making returning travellers pay more Customs duty at the airport might help Government raise money, but is unlikely to help local retailers, according to Bermuda residents.Duty for items declared by returning residents at the airport is to increase from 25 percent to 35 percent as of November 4.The move was announced by Premier Paula Cox last week as part of an effort to help the Island’s ailing retail sector.However, residents who spoke with The Royal Gazette in Hamilton yesterday doubted the increase would have the desired effect.Somers Tuzo said: “People are going to go away anyway, and people are still going to buy what they want. People are looking for more variety.”He said he personally doesn’t go overseas to shop, but he couldn’t see the ten percentage point increase having a real impact on buying habits.“The airlines will have a seat sale and the hotels will have a deal and Bermudians will be out there spending their money,” Mr Tuzo said.Davis Mwangi agreed. He said that prices on the Island are higher even with the additional duty factored in to overseas purchases.“I think it’s still more affordable to shop overseas with the prices as they are,” he said.Ralph DeShields said he felt the Government was doing everything it could to pull the economy out of its current difficulties.Despite that, he said: ”It’s not going to affect my shopping habits.”Eugene Vickers was more optimistic about the increase having its desired effect.“I think a ten percent increase will help the economy. It will force people to shop more at home than they would otherwise.“We have to start moving somehow to get the economy to improve.”George Wilson agreed that the move might help retail staff keep their jobs but he warned it could cost the Government votes in the nest election.“I think that duty is too high already,” Mr Wilson said. “To me, it’s definitely too high. They are trying to get people to shop Bermuda but I don’t think it’s the right thing to do.“It’s more than anything else going to affect the prospects of re-election. I’m a PLP supporter. It’s not going to stop me voting for them but it is going to affect their re-election.“This is affecting the small man, the working man most of all. People are going to go abroad whether they charge duty or not. Charging more duty isn’t going to stop anyone.”Sylvia Ferreira meanwhile said that the increase in duty wouldn’t encourage anyone to shop locally but it would raise money for the Government.“I feel that it’s an attempt by the Government to raise more money to help pay off this debt that they created,” she said. “They want the average person to pay the debt they created.”She admitted the increase would discourage her from shopping overseas but added: “I won’t shop a lot here either.”Cecelia Tavares said that for her, the issue isn’t the rate of duty but the limited duty-free allowance.“I don’t think I would have a problem with the duty increasing if the duty-free allowance was higher,” she said. “If it was $200, I wouldn’t have any issue with it.”Desirée Riley said she was shocked by the announcement. She said the increase might discourage her from shopping while overseas, but she would likely spend more money shopping online.“I buy a lot of things online and have them brought in by [importers] Mailboxes,” she said. “Now Mailboxes is going to be one of the cheapest ways of bringing things in.”Abera Outerbridge was also surprised by the increase.“I go away three times a year, and when I go away, I shop big,” he said. “My duty is up to $500, $600. Of course it’s going to affect my spending.”