The parliament today opened for public comment on the proposed amendment to the Tourism Act to empower the President to designate islands under the jurisdiction of councils for tourism purposes.

According to the People's Majlis announcement, public comments and opinions can be emailed to the Economic Committee before 5:00 pm on Monday.

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The main purpose of the bill is to make it easier to lease islands, lagoons and land under cross-subsidy basis related to government projects. It was proposed by Thimarafushi MP Ahmed Riyaz.

The bill also includes giving investors various options to extend their leases on resort properties. The lease will be extended if the payment is made within six months of the bill passing and the law coming into force:

• USD 100,000 for each additional year
• USD 5 million to extend 49 years
• USD 2.5 million to extend 20 years
• USD 3 million to extend 25 years

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If the lease is extended six months after the bill comes into force, investors have to pay USD 200,000 for each year. The lease can be extended for 49 years by paying a lump sum of USD 15 million.

Businesses and the public have expressed concerns about other proposed changes to the Tourism Act.

One of the most concerning proposals is empowering the government to confiscate properties without any compensation if a resort closed for redevelopment does not open for the scheduled date.

There are also concerns as the government can cancel agreements for suspension of services while permission must be sought to advertise tourist establishments.

“The advertising of tourist service establishments and the publication of information about them shall be in accordance with the regulations made by the Ministry of Tourism under this Act,” the bill states.