Tourism gets wide ranging incentives

Establishments such as restaurants, which were previously not benefiting from the IPA, will now enjoy concessions under the newly approved Tourism Incentive Bill

The National Assembly has approved a new bill with a new package of incentives to benefit businesses in the tourism trade.

The Tourism Incentive Bill 2003, presented by Vice-President James Michel on Tuesday December 9  in his capacity as the Minister for Finance, is to complement the Investment Promotion Act (IPA) which was limited only to four- and five-star establishments.

The bill, VP Michel said, comes from a government promise in June when, after introducing the Macro-Economic Reform Programme (Merp), it gave its word to revise the concessions offered to the tourism trade to bring in new incentives that would help improve the economic activities of all businesses in the industry.

The new package of incentives, he said, would be an encouragement to Seychellois investors, small guest houses, diving centres, tour guides, restaurants, boat operators and destination management companies, that were previously not benefiting under the IPA.

The concessions will cover trades tax exemptions on capital equipment and construction materials, minor operating equipment, commercial vehicles, standard equipment and operational vehicles. The bill also makes provisions for social security and Gainful Occupation Permit (GOP) concessions.

VP Michel said the incentives were in line with the government's policy to encourage tourism businesses to improve their performances for increased foreign exchange revenue from visitors.

Concessions given to hotels, the Vice-President explained, are based on net yield, but the bill also made provisions for additional concessions for those generating more revenue.

All businesses in the trade, operating either on a small, medium or large scale, have a key role to play in the country's economy, the Vice-President said.

The ministries of Finance and Tourism, he said, have established a unit to ensure that the provisions of the bill, when it becomes act, are implemented effectively and that the concessions are given out smoothly with little delay.

The IPA, VP Michel said, has facilitated more than US$200 million in investments to the tourism sector and has brought in big names to the local hotel industry, such as Banyan Tree, Beachcomber, Constance Hotels and Wilderness Safari, and facilitated other tourism-related investments.

Three National Assembly members – honourables Dick Esparon, Patrick Herminie and Giovana Charles – made brief interventions about the bill. 

Being the chairman of the parliamentary tourism committee, Hon. Esparon said that his discussions with tourism-related businesses about the bill had been positive.

The merits and principles of the bill, he said, would help to bring about improvement in the quality of products being offered by the industry and upgrade the Seychelles standard as a whole.

Honourable Patrick Herminie proposed an amendment for the implementation of the bill to be overseen by the Ministry of Finance and not the Ministry of Tourism. 

The amendment was approved.

Honourable Charles said she hoped that the Bill would further ensure that priority was given to the local job market for the recruitment of employees in the tourism industry.

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