Increases to the tourism authority fee will not be as high as expected, the Minister of Economic Development told the House of Assembly.

Grant Gibbons said the hotelier’s tax for each guest would be set at 4.5 per cent and not 5.5 per cent as set out in the Budget and the changes would take effect on May 1, rather than April 1.

However, the tax increase was criticised by Marc Bean, the Leader of the Opposition, who described the move as another “fiscal blunder, another mistake”.

Dr Gibbons, who was speaking on behalf of tourism minister Shawn Crockwell on Wednesday, said the change to the Bermuda Tourism Authority Amendment Act 2016, which was later passed, resulted from further discussions between the Bermuda Tourism Authority and the Bermuda Hotels Association after the Budget statement.

Dr Gibbons explained that the tourism authority fee, which had been set at 2.5 per cent, is paid to the BTA by hotel proprietors but is charged to the guest’s bill.

He said the increase to 4.5 per cent would lead to an extra $3 million for the BTA’s marketing budget, as opposed to the $4.5 million previously estimated.

But Mr Bean said this was another bill he would encourage the Government to “seriously consider reversing or getting rid of all together”.

“I’m not convinced we are getting value for money from the BTA,” Mr Bean said.

He added that the BTA was looking for more taxpayer money despite “non-performance”.

Jamahl Simmons, the Shadow Minister of Tourism, said the BTA had failed to deliver on three of its key objectives.

He expressed concern over “the continuing passing on of the burden of the BTA”, which he said was supposed to become financially independent, and questioned when “someone will be held accountable for the performance issues” in the BTA.

“We cannot continue to see these failures to meet objectives be rewarded with more money,” he said. Mr Simmons furthermore stressed that tourists were looking for value for money and this tax, even though it is now lower than expected, “is a case of driving the knife in and then pulling it out just to try and ease the pain”.

“Still the knife is in there, and the cost of doing business, the cost of getting a guest here has gone up and that can’t be a good thing.”

Mr Bean also stressed that the cost of business and travel to the island is one of the biggest problems Bermuda faces from a tourism perspective.

“If we are seeking to attract visitors, how in God’s name can we possibly expect to increase a guest accommodation tax and expect that to be beneficial to bringing more people to Bermuda,” he said. He added that there had been an “over-dependency of tourism on the Government”, and while he said he was very concerned about increased taxes for tourists, hotels should make more of an effort to be competitive if this becomes a burden.

“I would prefer hotels in this country to get off their backside and compete in the market,” he said.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Bob Richards told the House that between $1 million and $2 million dollars could be gained over the next fiscal year from an increase in Government fees.

These were outlined in the Government Fees Amendment Regulations 2016 and cover 74 sections, which have each seen a general 4 per cent increase.

However, Mr Richards said some smaller fees had been rounded up to the nearest dollar for administrative ease, while others had seen a more substantial increase to cover the cost of services provided.

Some fees have also gone down, he said.

The fees for trade marks and service marks would also be raised by 4 per cent, as outlined in the Government Fees (Trade Marks and Service Marks) Amendment Regulations 2016, to better reflect the work required and the fees charged in other jurisdictions, according to Mr Richards.