Vacation rental hosts have requested debate be suspended on a bill intended to regulate tourism-related enterprises, stating in a written letter to House Speaker Patricia Deveaux that it lacks industry support.

Debate was supposed to begin yesterday on the Tourism Development Corporation of The Bahamas Bill, 2023 in the House of Assembly, however Leader of Government Business in the House Obie Wilchcombe informed that the debate was postponed to allow for more consultation.

In a letter dated March 19 to the speaker of the House, Interim President of the Bahamas Vacation Rentals Association Theofanis Cochinamogulos requested the bill be suspended, warning that the bill's passage would risk hundreds of rooms being pulled off the market.

"Unfortunately, the bill scheduled for debate tomorrow, Monday, March 20th, 2023 lacks the support of hundreds of vacation rental hosts as there was no consultation with us," he said.

"We crave your indulgence, and that of the leader of government business, along with the leader of opposition business, and ask that you suspend debate until the recommendations of our membership can be considered. There are sections in this bill that will result in rooms being pulled off the market at a time when there is a shortage of rooms for tourists visiting our country."

The Tourism Development Corporation of The Bahamas Bill, 2023, among other things, codifies the Tourism Development Corporation to be the primary entity concerned with resilient and sustainable tourism development in The Bahamas.

It seeks to provide for a register of tourism-related enterprises, including vacation rental accommodations, with the corporation.

The corporation alone would to grant its seal of approval to registered tourism-related enterprises and, "where it is satisfied that the owner is a fit and proper person and the enterprise meets the guidelines imposed by the corporation, for the display and withdrawal of the seal of approval and for the right for persons aggrieved by the decision of the corporation to appeal."

Under the regime codified by the bill, the Tourism Development Corporation may also issue guidelines for standards and best practices with respect to tourism-related enterprises and products, to protect the integrity of The Bahamas as a tourism destination.

Moreover, the law calls for offenses and penalties, and would allow the minister of tourism to "prescribe a rate of contribution to be paid by owners of tourism-related enterprises into the Tourism Development Fund, and for the corporation to support - in a range of tourism development matters - advancing collaboration and partnership and supporting local tourism development groups on all Family Islands and across The Bahamas".

The Department of Inland Revenue (DIR), in an effort to regulate the industry, announced recently that beginning March 1, short-term vacation property owners must register with the department by the end of April.

Minister of Economic Affairs Michael Halkitis has said that while it is expected those registered properties will pay value-added tax in the future, it will be consistent with the current value added tax (VAT) threshold of $100,000 revenue annually.

The opposition has decried this move by the government, claiming that it is unacceptable the requirement would be announced arbitrarily without legislation to support the registration of vacation rental properties, and is an added layer of bureaucracy for Bahamian entrepreneurs.

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