Amendments to the Hotel Concessions Act that will give the Tourism Minister more flexibility in deciding what hotel improvements should be granted tax breaks and will cut through red tape were approved by the Senate this week.

Junior Tourism Minister Sen. Walter Roban said aspects of the Act, first passed in 2000 to give hotels financial support for renovations and expansion, were "unduly cumbersome".

The amendments will now give Tourism Minister Dr. Ewart Brown the ability to decide what constitutes "substantial developments".

In doing so, the Minister will be required to consider "the economic climate at the time, the current building trends in the hotel market, the net effect of the development on the hotel's inventory of beds and such other factors pertinent to the tourism industry in Bermuda",

The new Act will also allow the Minister of Tourism to amend concession orders, which will reduce bureaucracy. Previously hotel developers had to submit new requests if they changed anything in their plans.

Another amendment grants hotel developers a full exemption from paying the developer's portion of payroll tax.

On Friday in the House of Assembly Tourism Minster, Dr. Ewart Brown said the amendments were necessary.

"The Ministry cannot afford to be hamstrung by traditional bureaucracy," Dr. Brown said.

Opposition Sen. Kim Swan said the UBP supported the amendments.