Working parents may be relieved to hear that the Government is extending its oversubscribed summer camp programme.

An additional $500,000 has been budgeted for the camp that takes place during the school summer breaks.

Owen Darrell, the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport, said the investment would “significantly” reduce the waiting list that exists and that partnerships would be formed with private camps to extend the offering.

Mr Darrell was speaking at a press conference on the budget for the ministry at the Rosedon Hotel this afternoon.

He said: “The summer day-camp programmes are extremely popular as parents seek safe and affordable summer camps for their children.

“Annually, parents eagerly await registration for summer day camp. Registration closes within minutes of opening because the camps have reached their maximum capacity.”

After camp enrolment hits capacity, a waiting list is created and those lists are usually long.

“The aim is to alleviate the stress of finding safe and affordable summer camps for as many children as we can allow,” the minister continued.

“The strategy is to expand availability at public summer camps and collaborate with private camp operators to secure additional spaces.”

The ministry’s budget has increased by $15.9m providing a total budget allocation of $29.6 million.

Mr Darrell said the increase in ministry funding was due to the transfer of the Bermuda Tourism Authority grant, the Hotel Regulatory and Policy Unit, and cultural grants to supplement and complement the efforts of the BTA.

The funding covers the operational expenditure for the ministry headquarters, the Hotel Regulatory and Policy Unit, the Department of Culture, the Department of Sport and Recreation, and grants.

The grant to the BTA was slashed by close to $2.5 million to $16.5 million.

Asked whether the Government was attempting to water down the BTA and take more control of tourism, Mr Darrell responded: “The BTA has done, and continues to do, good work for tourism. I have met the BTA board and we have asked them to sharpen their pencils and focus more on the sales and marketing, which we know the BTA does very well.

“We are looking to collaborate with the BTA to supplement some of the efforts in other places.

“With this ministry now taking on culture and sport, there are many synergies that you can expect to come forward and this is a way to streamline some of those resources.

“What we are doing by taking on some of the cultural and sporting aspects of that is allowing the BTA to become stronger in what they do really well, which is sales and marketing.”

Mr Darrell said funds from the BTA grant were being redirected to “priority” areas within the ministry.

He said they included “increased grants to supplement local curators of tourism experiences; increased funding for elite athletes as 2024 is an Olympic year; increased funding for sports development in line with the National Sports Policy that will ultimately support many national sports governing bodies; the expansion of accessibility to affordable summer day-camp programmes; and assistance with the operation of makerspaces for artists and creatives, a Throne Speech initiative”.

Mr Darrell said the makerspaces would start up as soon as April but would take some time to roll out.

“It will be a slow process. We do not expect to bring online all makerspaces for all creatives at that time but before summer comes you will see the start of some.”

He said: “There will be a little bit at a time to accommodate as many as we can”.

Owners of vacation rentals have spoken out publicly against the introduction of fees, which was implemented on September 1. They said that along with a BTA fee and Land Tax, they felt they were being overtaxed.

Mr Darrell has met representatives of the industry. He said: “We have a follow-up meeting very shortly and you will hear an announcement regarding the vacation rentals. As we move into the season, they become very, very popular.”