Senators approved legislation allowing restaurants and hotels to continue to receive duty relief for capital investments to improve their facilities until 2029.

Both the Restaurants (Temporary Customs Duty Relief) Amendment Act 2024 and the Hotels (Temporary Customs Duty Relief) Amendment Act 2024, which were passed in the House of Assembly on Friday, were brought to the Senate by Arianna Hodgson, senator and spokeswoman for finance.

The relief was last extended in 2019 and formally expired on March 31 this year.

The legislation would come into effect retroactively with effect from April 1, with the relief to now end on March 31, 2029.

Ms Hodgson said: “Honourable members will appreciate the importance of upgrading Bermuda’s tourism product in order to revitalise the local tourism industry.”

Hotels claimed a combined total of $8.8 million in customs duty relief for renovations and refurbishment in the past five years, while restaurants had claimed about $2.5 million.

Dwayne Robinson, an opposition senator, said the One Bermuda Alliance understood the strain on the industry, not least after the Covid-19 pandemic.

The concession is separate from that offered in the Tourism Investment Act, which offered hotels relief on payroll tax and land tax.

Mr Robinson asked for clarity around the relief afforded to hotels that also received concessions under the Tourism Investment Act.

He said: “Can the junior minister clarify the overlap of this particular relief with the increased concessions that certain hotels have received in this very chamber and whether or not Government has done a cost analysis as to whether or not we are getting the best bang for our buck, and whether or not hotels are investing as much into the local community and island as they are getting concessions?”

Owen Darrell, a government senator and tourism minister, said the relief under the Tourism Investment Act was more for long-term investment “to bring stability and confidence to the investors”.

“This is specifically on customs duty for hotels,” Mr Darrell said. “This shows that this government is committed to the tourism industry in this island and we are committed to all that we can do to put ourselves on a competitive footing.”

Ms Hodgson added: “As it stands, there are only eight tourism investment orders for hotel properties.

“On the other hand, there are no restaurants that then benefit from the Tourism Investment Order.

“So some of the duty relief and other bits that are of benefit under the Tourism Investment Order of course would not apply and so this broader relief is able to help more persons.”