recover from its currents slump.

And Sen. Walwyn Hughes is urging Government not to spend too much time and money "chasing something that is not attainable.

"There are some concerns moving forward and tourism is one of those,'' he said. "We have got to look for different things with tourism and it may well be that we never see the levels of tourism that we had in the 1970s and 1980s restored.

"The world has changed and so much has changed. We have to be careful to assess what are reasonable goals in tourism and not spend more money chasing something that is unattainable.'' Sen. Hughes said that providing different types of accommodation could help revive the industry.

"We need to give a different mix,'' he said.

"Niche markets like Daniel's Head may provide part of the answer. Getting people to think about investing in hotels is just not on -- you need to have a big carrot and a pretty big stick as well.'' Sen. Hughes praised the efforts of Tourism Minister David Allen but fired a word of caution to the new Minister.

"I think he's doing a great job and brings new vitality and enthusiasm but he's now saying himself it's not going to turn around in one year.

"But the Throne Speech says that this year will be better than the year past -- it sets the Government up for something that it might not achieve.'' Mr. Allen has recently stated that he considers it will take up to five years to see any change in the industry's fortunes.

Sen. Hughes added that e-commerce had the potential to become the Island's third pillar of income, but added that the Government needed to act quickly if it was to seize the opportunity.

Last night Mr. Allen could not be contacted to discuss Senator Hughes' comments.