The Opposition is urging Government to reconsider its ?obvious shift? in policy towards bringing in more cruise ship passengers as opposed to air arrivals.

A shift, both the Opposition and the Bermuda Hotel Association feel is unhealthy for the long term viability of Bermuda?s tourism industry.

Shadow Tourism Minister, Senator Kim Swan said yesterday cruise ships represented nearly 50 percent of all arrivals during the third quarter (July ? September) it was glaringly obvious that Government was playing the numbers game.

In 2000, cruise ship passengers, he said, accounted for 39 percent and in the next five years increased to reach a peak in 2003 at 47 percent and 43 percent in 2004.

Reiterating what he said before on the subject, Senator Swan added that the long-established policy for cruise ships has been to balance cruise arrivals with air arrivals to avoid overburdening the island?s infrastructure.

But, he said, this was not apparent in the numbers and he felt Dr. Brown was deviating from this policy.

Since 2002 cruise ship passengers have accounted for more than 40 per cent of the total number of visitors to the island.

?We are now seeing the results in the cruise ship shift with the increase in cruise visitors and the anticipation of increased numbers in 2006 season,? Sen. Swan said.

He explained it was universally understood that hotel-bound visitors contribute significantly more towards the Bermuda economy, adding: ?Particularly when you consider the huge disparity between the average spending of air visitors at $1,400 versus cruise visitors $157, as disclosed in the Ettenberg Report.

?It bewilders me why the Minister would pursue increased cruise visitors and overburden Bermuda?s infrastructure,? he said.

Senator Swan added that Dr. Brown was aware of the challenges the Island?s hotels faced early in the year when he reversed the longstanding cruise policy and began a quest to court more cruise passengers and larger ships.

?And given the alarming news of the erosion of the peak season before the end of summer, it was hoped that an all-out effort would have been made to save what was left of the remainder of the season. This could have been achieved with an all-out assault in the gateway cities,? he said.

But instead the Tourism Department spent more than $100,000 on the African Diaspora Conference ? an initiative, Sen. Swan said was better suited for the Ministry of Community and Culture, and apparently geared to play to a local audience.

Senator Swan said since 1998, almost half of all the hotel jobs on the island were lost.

?It is important to keep our eyes on the real issues at hand. The success of hotels will result in jobs in Bermuda and a significant injection into the island?s economy.?

The President of the Hotel Association, Michael Winfield said: ?While I speak from a position of obvious bias being a hotelier, it is widely accepted that the contribution of hotel guests compared to cruise ship visitors is several multiples.?

He said every hotel guest contributes significantly more to the economy of Bermuda in a variety of ways than the cruise ship guest.

?For instance, hotel guess keep hotel staff employed, they visit restaurants and use the infrastructure of Bermuda and indeed pay for that infrastructure much more the cruise ship visitor.?

Mr. Winfield agreed that in the last couple of decades, a reversal of the resident guests to cruise ship visitors has taken place and this, in his opinion, was unhealthy for the long term viability of Bermuda?s tourism industry.

?Having said that, the cruise ship visitor has without question provided some benefit to some elements of the business community and therefore has helped the overall tourism product.?

Mr. Winfield said the clear goal recognised by all concerned was to increase the number of visitors visiting Bermuda?s hotels ? something he felt was being focused on.

?In the meanwhile the cruise ship visitor should be welcomed as contributing to our industry,? he said.