This idea was suggested by a mercantile reader: It may seem odd to many that next year St George’s has no scheduled cruise ships, and Hamilton will see a rapid decline of visiting ships.
Instead, the Department of Tourism has focussed on funneling several megaships into the Royal Dockyard. News reports seem to indicate that Government has left Hamilton and St George’s to their own devices if they wish to find replacement ships.
Why would they do this? The reason is simple: Government gets a bigger slice of the action in Dockyard.
- For every visitor to Hamilton, Government gets an arrival fee. Eventually, the Government gets revenue from import duties and payroll tax from the retailers and restaurants that cater to the tourists.
- But in Dockyard, Government gets all that PLUS a good chunk of the actual revenues because Government’s WEDCo is the sole landlord (and typically charges rent as a percent of sales rather than a fixed monthly fee).
It’s a fairly bold move to grab more of the financial pie directly for Government from the private sector, as well as to weaken the independent Corporations of Hamilton and St George (whom the Government would dearly love to absorb).
