Shadow Tourism Minister Kim Swan said visitor spending was down because cruise-ship passengers were afraid to leave their ships at night.

And Sen. Swan said the length of time visiting yachts are allowed to remain in port should be increased.

"Government needs to address the real problem of visitors remaining confined to their respective ships at night," Sen. Swan said.

And the Ministry of Tourism could meet their target of increasing visitor spending by seven percent by changing these two "contentious issues" he said.

He said for many years local night-club and restaurant owners faced many challenges to have a profitable tourist season. But Bermudian merchants were finding themselves in direct competition with the cruise ships' entertainment when they were in port, he said.

"To achieve greater equity for the local businessman dependent on the tourism industry, the PLP Government should start with encouraging the tourists already on our shores, who are dissuaded from visiting our mainland at night, to enjoy Bermuda after dark."

He said every day during the cruise season over 5,000 cruise ship passengers felt dissuaded from patronising Bermuda at night.

"This is compounded by the loud music that is blasted from the cruise ships during the day and into the late hours of the night," he said. "Quite often, with music on the top deck which can be heard a mile away.

"Noise we would hardly tolerate from our local establishments who are in direct competition with the cruise ships for the tourist dollar."

The Opposition estimated the annual loss to nightclubs, bars and taxi businesses was well in excess of $10 million per season.

And he said because cruise ships were using foreign entertainers whilst in port, it "made a mockery" of the relaxation of the immigration policy Government was considering offering as a concession to restaurant and night-club owners who may need to bring in entertainers.

Regarding the length of stay for visiting yachts, he said several years ago Government's changing of the policy on transit trans-Atlantic yachts caused a great stir among the yachting community.

He said Government restricted the time a yacht could spend in port.

"This policy impacted on merchants in seaports especially the town of St.George's, a popular stopover spot for repairs," he said.

And he said Bermudian merchants have suffered because yachts were beginning to make alternative plans despite Bermuda's strategic navigational location.

"An unfriendly policy poured cold water over the once friendly port we in Bermuda spent many years trying to establish within the minds of the international yachting community," he said.

He said the yachting community spends money when in port however, this policy came at a time when an increase in visitor spending was needed.

Whether visitor's spent money in grocery stores or retail outlets, he said it was an invaluable part of our tourist economy.

The Shadow Minister urged Government to rethink these two policies because it could see an immediate increase in visitor spending with a minimal amount of promotional tax-dollars being spent.

Although he supported Government's recent change in charging cruise-ship passengers a "port tax" of $20 per day instead of the $60 flat rate previously charged, he said Government needs to address the real problem of visitors remaining confined to their respective ships at night.

He said Government's "softly softly" approach to crime has "come back to haunt us all in Bermuda".

"Eliminating or reducing the threats posed to tourists, as outlined in the US state Department Travel Advisory, can be best achieved by making our Island safer; particularly, key visitor areas in St. George's, Hamilton and Dockyard," he said.