Government Senate Leader David Burch mounted a strong defence of under-fire Tourism Minister David Allen yesterday.

He told the Senate that there was a fanatical drive to get at the Minister of Tourism which was misguided.

He said he supported Mr. Allen "not just because I am affected by his enthusiasm, but because of the effects of what I see today".

He said if it was not for Mr. Allen's Hotel Concessions Act 2000, which gave tax breaks for hotels which invested in their physical product, there would not be the new tourism-related building taking place today.

Sen. Burch noted that Mr. Allens' arch-critic Shadow Tourism Minister David Dodwell had taken advantage of the Act to invest at his own hotel, The Reefs in Southampton, while others such as the Hamilton Princess were spending millions on upgrades.

He said: "We would not have had that without the current Minister of Tourism."

He said hotel chains only invested where they thought there was potential.

"Before they were not happy with Bermuda as a destination, they were not prepared to invest. This Government set about putting that right."

He said unions and management had been consulted as the Government implemented its plan for tourism.

Tourism offered far more job opportunities for Bermudians than international business, said Mr. Burch. "The outlook is extremely bright, I don't think that's a minority view."