Hotel industry receives much needed support and stimulus package from Government
Written By: Star Reporter on Jul 8th, 2009
Executive Director of SLHTA Mchale Andrew
The St Lucia Hotel and Tourism Association is pleased to have obtained a package of fiscal and marketing support for its hotel and restaurant sub-sectors from the Government of St. Lucia. The Association was officially notified late on Wednesday July 1st 2009 of the measures granted and approved by the Cabinet of Ministers with a view to reducing operating costs while stimulating tourism, and by extension, general economic activity, as St. Lucia braces for an unprecedentedly challenging summer tourism season from July to November.
Many of the properties have been attempting to keep their doors open and their staff employed through employee rotations and reductions in room capacity, as they experience falling occupancy levels even at severely discounted room rates. Others have had to lay off workers and trim their operations as a direct consequence of the ongoing economic downturn. The measures announced by Government include:• Exemption from the quota system for importation of bacon and ham for a period of one (1) year from 1st July 2009 to 30th June 2010.
• Elimination of Excise Duty on wines for a period of one (1) year from 1ST July, 2009 to 30th June 2010.
• Exemption from payment of import duty and consumption tax on the importation of chlorine for a period of one (1) year from 1st July, 2009 to 3oth June 2010.
• A grace period of deferment of the payment of Hotel Accommodation Tax due for the six- month period from July to December 2009, to be paid over the 18-month period beginning January 2010 to June 2011.
• Permission to import bone-in-beef slaughtered from animals below 30 months in age from credible United States suppliers.
• Approval in principle for a Hotel Accommodation Tax Credit up to XCD$2, 000 000.00 to Sandals Resorts International (SRI) to permit a joint television marketing initiative, subject to approval of the marketing schedule. Cabinet agreed that the Tax credit be granted on the condition that the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation selects a media purchasing company, which is agreeable to SRI, to determine the value of the media buy. SRI would be required to submit receipts and invoices to substantiate the tax credit.
Whilst the SLHTA welcomes any initiative for joint venture marketing programmes, the membership is alarmed at the apparent inequity of the proposed measure of which it had no prior knowledge.
The members fervently believe that the initiative must be broadened to include the equitable participation of all interested SLHTA members. This must be executed in as fair and transparent a manner as possible so as to justify the allocation of public funds to private enterprises.
Notwithstanding the concerns expressed by the SLHTA, the President has agreed to grant the Minister of Tourism the courtesy of defending his position to the SLHTA membership upon his return to the island in mid