Opposition MPs urged Government to rethink a $250 charge for every yacht passenger or crew member who wants to stay in Bermuda longer than three weeks.Yachts can now dock here for up to three months as opposed to just 21 days but must pay the fee for each person on board if they wish to “come here and tarry a while”, Premier Paula Cox said on Friday.She told the House of Assembly the Island had to start thinking about the “blue economy” and ways to use the surrounding ocean as a way to “create and generate revenue and also economic activity”.But Shadow Finance Minister Bob Richards said while the extended period of time was welcome, the new charge sent the wrong message.“We should be encouraging our visitors to stay. We need to not just say that we want to do that; we need to encourage them in real ways.”The One Bermuda Alliance MP said the fee communicated the message that Bermuda felt it was doing a favour to the mariners by letting them come here. “It’s likely to turn off the people that we are basically trying to encourage to stay here. It’s one of the things that we must change if we are to revitalise all of our industries in Bermuda.”United Bermuda Party Leader Kim Swan said he shouted out “hip hip hooray!” when he heard the 21-day limit on stays had been extended.But he said the $250 charge should be replaced with a “symbolic” one dollar tariff to encourage people to head to Bermuda.“We are not a country that’s overflowing with visitors,” he noted. “The acid test for this situation should be: will it result in far more visitors than we are experiencing now? Taxes and fees stifle sometimes. This is what we are getting at. You can get more visitors with a lesser fee.”Youth and Sports Minister Glenn Blakeney questioned “whose side” opposition MPs were on, adding the economic climate meant the Island needed all the revenue it could raise.“Why throw us under the bus?” he said. “Why? We are in silly season. Our common sense doesn’t necessarily apply if we are the opposition.”He added: “We don’t have to politicise every single thing. When it’s a good piece of legislation ... just say ‘Government, well done’.”The Minister said it was well known Bermuda was not the most inexpensive destination and mariners would be willing to pay the fee.Environment Minister Walter Roban said yachts came to the Island, took up space, used services and had an impact on the environment. “We tax cars,” he said. “We tax them for their use of the roads. To me, that’s understandable because of the impact on the environment.”He said there was a cost to having visitors and the $250 fee was “sustainable and appropriate”.Shadow Education Minister Grant Gibbons said it shouldn’t be assumed that because those who own yachts are generally well-off, they’d be willing to stump up the charge. “Sometimes the wealthy are the most parsimonious in terms of spending money; oftentimes that’s how they got that way.” He said cars were taxed because Government wanted to discourage car use. “It’s very different if you have a local living here who wants to put a car on the road and a visitor deciding whether to come here.”Shadow Tourism Minister Patricia Gordon-Pamplin said St Martin suffered a “rapid and devastating decline” in yacht visitors when it introduced fees. She said Bermuda needed to be competitive and look at what Caribbean islands were charging. “The idea that they can come and stay here for an extended period of time is a very positive move and we certainly applaud that,” added the OBA MP.PLP backbencher Wayne Furbert said the Government would have done its research and chosen the fee it found most appropriate.He said the OBA’s argument seemed to be to do away with all fees concerning tourists, such as hotel occupancy fees. “If that’s the agenda of the OBA let them put that on their platform.”Ms Cox ended the debate by saying Government was seeking to strike the right balance and could always review the fee periodically. She said: “Nothing is carved in stone. At this point in time, this is where the fee sits.”The Government Fees Amendment (No 3) Regulations 2011 were approved.