Apply for Experience Investment Funding

Eligible Applications

Funds may be awarded to a tourism related experience developer that:

• Submits a request for funding utilizing the official Tourism Experiences Investment Application and
• Whose mission and operation is directly related to tourism and tourism development in Bermuda.

Ineligible Experiences

Any experience that exhibits the following will be considered ineligible:

• Experiences that require the Bermuda Tourism Authority to cover the full cost
• Experiences not occurring in Bermuda or related to Bermuda tourism
• The funding request is to offset any expense(s) associated with a previous venture
• Requests for permanent funding
• Experiences that do not align with the goals of the National Tourism Plan
• Applications that have been submitted after the deadline
• Hard-copy, handwritten or faxed applications

Any of the following categories of experiences are ineligible:

• Sport experiences
• Meetings
• Promotional/ business exhibitions
• Tradeshows or Expos (If the main activity of the experience is a products/services showcase, the experience will be be considered an expo)

Priority will be given to those experiences that are annual and highly competitive. You can ensure that your programme is ranked accordingly if it has the ability to include any of the following elements:

• A unique experience
• Applications with a viable business/marketing plan
• Alignment with target visitor expectations or filling an identified product gap
• The attraction of international visitors travelling specifically for an experience
• Sustainability, i.e. is not a "one- off"
• An increase in the visitor’s length of stay and daily spend
• Multiple sources of funding i.e. beyond solely BTA
• Experiences occurring between October - April
• Has letters of support (2 required)
• Experiences that align with the Bermuda National Tourism Plan
• A celebrity, sporting personality, or prizewinning artist attending or participating in the experience

Appropriate Use of Funds

The experience developer is fully responsible for the use of funds awarded and therefore should take the proper measures to ensure that funds are being used appropriately. For these purposes, funds will not be awarded for:

• Standard operational costs – such as rent, utilities, payroll, etc.
• Staff travel expenses - (including gas, mileage, airfare, transportation, etc.)
• Previous business expenditures

If the experience application is successful, funds must be appropriately utilized within 1 year. Once the experience is completed or moved on from the start-up phase, it is the applicant’s responsibility to submit the Post Experience Report no more than 30 days after completion. Until this form can be provided to the BTA, within the submission deadline, the remaining funds will not be distributed.

Proof of Funds

As a provision of accepting the investment, awardees must provide adequate proof that the funds received were used as intended. Submissions must include all invoices, receipts, statements and other documents supporting the costs incurred during the experience life cycle. The BTA will be reviewing reports and checking that applicants have demonstrated acceptable use of funding.

Disbursement of Funds

The BTA will provide a percentage of the investment awarded once a contract has been signed. Each successful applicant will be paid by milestone payments which will be tied to performance based reporting requirements. The final payment of funds will be made once the Post Experience Report has been received by the BTA. Awardees must provide adequate proof that the funds received were used as intended. The BTA reserves the right to audit the Experience Developer to demonstrate that the funds were used as intended.

Appropriate Use of Funds

The experience developer is fully responsible for the use of funds awarded and therefore should take the proper measures to ensure that funds are being used appropriately. For these purposes, funds will not be awarded for:

• Standard operational costs – such as rent, utilities, payroll, etc.
• Staff travel expenses - (including gas, mileage, airfare, transportation, etc.)
• Previous business expenditures

If the experience application is successful, funds must be appropriately utilized within 1 year. Once the experience is completed or moved on from the start-up phase, it is the applicant’s responsibility to submit the Post Experience Report no more than 30 days after completion. Until this form can be provided to the BTA, within the submission deadline, the remaining funds will not be distributed.

Proof of Funds

As a provision of accepting the investment, awardees must provide adequate proof that the funds received were used as intended. Submissions must include all invoices, receipts, statements and other documents supporting the costs incurred during the experience life cycle. The BTA will be reviewing reports and checking that applicants have demonstrated acceptable use of funding.

Disbursement of Funds

The BTA will provide a percentage of the investment awarded once a contract has been signed. Each successful applicant will be paid by milestone payments which will be tied to performance based reporting requirements. The final payment of funds will be made once the Post Experience Report has been received by the BTA. Awardees must provide adequate proof that the funds received were used as intended. The BTA reserves the right to audit the Experience Developer to demonstrate that the funds were used as intended.