Greens grateful for hotel tax concession approval

Following the approval of the Hotels Concession (Fairmont Hamilton) Order 2013 in the Senate today, the Green family makes the following comments.

“We would like to thank both the Government and Opposition for unanimously passing the Hotels Concession (Fairmont Hamilton) Order 2013 and we are delighted to be moving forward with the renovations project at The Fairmont Hamilton Princess. We wish to emphasise that a project of this size would not be possible without the appropriate tax concessions as the financing of the project was contingent on getting these concessions. We understand that there was a miscommunication with regard to the terms of the original Hotel Concessions Order but we were pleased with the speed and professional manner in which Minister Crockwell and his team dealt with rectifying this situation. By dealing with the situation quickly, we are now able to get the necessary approvals in place to start construction later this year during the hotel’s low season.

“The Hotel Occupancy Tax is usually earmarked by the Government specifically for marketing Bermuda and the bulk of the tax breaks will come from this. A large portion of this concession will be spent on marketing the redeveloped Hamilton Princess Hotel through international campaigns that will raise the profile of Bermuda as both a destination for tourists as well as business travellers. The remainder of the tax breaks will be spent on training Bermudians and local entertainment.

“We are excited about the job opportunities that the renovations project will create. By November 2013, there will be over 120 people working on the hotel site, the majority of whom will be Bermudian.  In addition to this, it is our plan to create more permanent job opportunities once the marina has been constructed and the new restaurant is operational.”