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O tell me, how can a cruise ship send just 25 people to two local shows out of a capacity of 1,100 and expect any venue to stay in business? That night only two per cent of the passengers ventured off that particular ship. This is not spending money in Bermuda."

That's the question irate tourism campaigner and entertainer Tony Brannon put to Minister Ewart Brown in an e-mail last week.

Mr. Brannon believes Government must do more to encourage passengers to come ashore and patronise local businesses. He also recently pointed out that the cruise lines take a massive cut ? up to 60 per cent ? of earnings tour operators pick up from cruise ship passengers and added that, while the entertainment industry in Bermuda did need to reinvent itself, that was impossible if there was no client base.

In his e-mail, Mr. Brannon outlined a strategy for simultaneously reviving both the entertainment and tourism industries.

"The solution to the revival of Bermuda entertainment is to change the policy of allowing cruise ships to have entertainment onboard whilst in Bermuda and to allow casinos into Bermuda hotels, tying it with entertainment," he said.

"This will make Bermuda hotels competitive again for the leisure market who are flocking to cruise ships because of the value offered. Hotels need to be on the same playing field as the cruise ships and they are not. Taxes from casino profits would be used to fund social programmes such as free hospitalisation for the poor.

"Government should also give tax relief to all people in the arts. Make Bermuda a tax free zone for the arts and entertainment world."

Cruise ships were banned from holding live entertainment on board vessels under the last United Bermuda Party Government but that ban was lifted by the Progressive Labour Party's first Tourism Minister, David Allen, shortly after the 1998 election.

Mr. Brannon's is not a fresh concern. Last year then-Shadow Tourism Minister Kim Swan said cruise passengers needed to be encouraged to spend evenings on shore and that part of the solution was to provide the necessary entertainment to lure them off the ships. Government, Sen. Swan argued, could be part of the solution.

"They are not participating in our economy and we need to encourage them to get off the ships at night. The cruise ships are competing with local businesses to provide entertainment and it's not a level playing field," Sen. Swan said.

"For example, local businesses need a work permit to bring in an entertainer from overseas, the cruise ships do not. The Government has to recognise that if they want to increase visitor spending, there is money going begging whenever the cruise ships are in port."

is a concern that the Tourism Minister is not oblivious to. Last year Dr. Brown indicated that he wanted to see cruise ship spending increase by seven per cent over the following three years. How Dr. Brown intends to do that is not clear, but he is certainly not prepared to give entertainers any breaks in an effort to give the island's night scene a welcome shot in the arm.

Responding to comments made by Mr. Brannon last week, the Minister said: "We should not be trying to attract business by default. If things are attractive on land, then the passengers will come off the cruise ships. I would like to see a free-market approach."

But Dr. Brown doesn't adopt a free-market approach on behalf of the island's retailers. Any stores on board cruise ships must close while the vessel is in port. Why? To encourage passengers to patronise island retailers rather than make purchases from the ship.

That's a break that many retailers welcome.

Kristi Grayston, co-chairperson of the Retail Division of Chamber of Commerce, said: "Obviously for those businesses that are tourist-driven the ban is hugely important. I couldn't tell you what's on sale in the shops on the cruise ships but I suspect it's things like jewellery, T-shirts and impulse purchases. We would much rather passengers make those purchases on shore rather than on board.

"Really, there are two levels of cruise ship passenger. There are plenty who come ashore, grab a postcard and a T-shirt and then go back to the ship where the drinks are cheaper and the entertainment free. But there is a higher end visitor."

While many within the industry may agree with Dr. Brown's "free market approach", they claim it's hardly a free market when cruise ships hold all the cards.

Barnett, chairman of the Restaurant, Bar and Nightclub Division of the Chamber of Commerce, confirmed the clich? that too many cruise passengers spend more time on deck than Front Street.

"Cruise ship passengers are not the best source of business for our members," he said.

"Generally speaking, the great majority of cruise passengers stay on the ship at night. I have personally visited all member establishments in town on a Tuesday night when there are two ships in port, and you can count the cruise passengers in each establishment on one hand.

"It's impossible for us to compete with the shows that they put on ? full Broadway-style reviews in 2,500-seat auditoriums, purpose-built piano bars, etc. ? not to mention that their entertainment costs are one-third of ours here in Bermuda due to all the associated costs of living/working in Bermuda that don't affect the cruise lines.

"Oftentimes, they return to their ship to eat ? which is included in their cruise price ? and therefore restaurants get no business from passengers. The exception is Norwegian Cruise Lines which has made a sincere effort with their Freestyle Dining Ashore Programme.

"The Restaurant Division has always maintained that we would rather have more emphasis put on air visitors than cruise visitors. There is a general consensus among members that too many cruise passengers can have a detrimental effect on the image of Bermuda. Statistics show that they spend ten per cent compared to air visitors, and that they are mostly from a different ? lower ? income band than air arrivals.

"This is thought by members to have a negative impact on Bermuda as a whole, as it can 'water down' the exclusiveness that air arrivals have come here to enjoy.

"We believe there is a market for limited cruise ship visits to Bermuda, but feel that it is completely unbalanced right now.

"The Restaurant, Bar and Nightclub Division would greatly welcome any such support. We have worked synergistically on other issues with Government that have led to our industry becoming more competitive and improving, for example the Restaurant Renovation Duty Relief Act, the maintaining of the current labour laws to allow workers the choice to work overtime at straight pay.

"We also believe that credit is due to the current Minister of Tourism and Transport for finally improving the downward spiral of tourism in Bermuda, and feel that increased viability of local entertainment spots would certainly continue to help."

Michael Winfield agrees that the cruise lines have many advantages over local entertainers, but is more reserved about an entertainment ban.

"I do believe that cruise ships hold an unfair advantage over the Bermuda infrastructure," the president and CEO of Cambridge Beaches said.

"They are not required to pay Bermuda wages, they do not pay the electrical costs, the importation of food, indeed the importation of all products that the hotels are faced with. They do not have the high cost of land, they do not have to pay the high cost of construction that hotels do in Bermuda and yet they are allowed to effectively operate as hotels in Bermuda.

"Most importantly, when the season drops down, they can simply shift to somewhere else that is more profitable.

"Having said that, the hotel community has accepted this unfair competition for many years and has done so by offering a different product that we hope appeals to a sufficient number of visitors.

"To be competitive, we have all had to invest highly, to assess what the competition is and do a better job. I do get concerned at the thought of banning competition. Would it not be better to make the local product so enticing that visitors of all sorts demand to see it?"

Undoubtedly a ban on cruise ships providing entertainment for passengers would encourage those visitors to spend more time and money in town. And with more visitors arriving by sea than air this year, the cruise ships present a massive opportunity that local businesses need to tap in to. Ultimately, however, individual businesses and the tourism industry as a whole may need to diversify if they are to succeed.

As Mrs. Grayston pointed out: "I sympathise with the entertainment industry because they're in a Catch-22 position. But basically I would say to the entertainment business the same as I would say to retailers ? if you're betting your business on cruise ship passengers alone, you're making a horrible mistake."

It's advice that the Minister might do well to listen to.