The Tribune

Tourism-related businesses throughout Grand Bahama gathered at a Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) facilitated Value-Added Tax (VAT) workshop in Freeport on Monday.

The workshop is one of several planned for tourism industry-specific businesses throughout the Bahamas, as part of a joint private-public sector effort to educate companies and individuals on VAT.

Workshops in Nassau and Grand Bahama over the past several weeks have attracted almost 300 participants.

Subsequent sessions are planned throughout the Family Islands, with the Ministry of Finance providing educators and training material, and the BHTA and Ministry of Tourism facilitating the roll-out of the readiness workshops.

Attendees are given training on everything from VAT basics to a heightened understanding, which incorporates aspects of VAT that are specific to the tourism sector, such as price packaging to wholesalers and online travel agencies; marketing and dealing with transitional considerations.