A Front Street retailer has demanded a new approach for dealing with the Island's tourism industry and resumed calls for a weekend cruise ship.

Daina Ltd. president John Casling said all the new cruise ship policy did was provide Government with additional revenue.

Mr. Casling -- the founder of the tourism pressure group The Coalition for Change -- told The Royal Gazette : "I don't think anyone is surprised at their approach but I think it's a shame that we can't use an innovative approach to anything.

"The only thing new in the policy is more taxes for the passenger so the bottom line is that it will cost anyone who wants to cruise to Bermuda more money.

"The only person benefiting is Government. Not the taxi driver, retailer or tour operator and they were the people who were supposed to benefit.'' He added that it was time the Island realised it was only a tourist destination for five months of the year so it had to "generate the numbers'' during that period.

And he noted that Bermuda couldn't be a player in world tourism unless it operated seven days a week.

Legislation was needed to allow shops to open on Sundays and cater to what the visitor wanted so retailers could take advantage of the short season which could also be boosted by a weekend visitor.

"We have to cater to people who elect to come to Bermuda over the weekend and give them what they want. If they want to shop then we have to open our stores not close the City of Hamilton down.

"Surely we must accommodate the most visitors we can in that short period of time. There are no cruise ships on the weekend which is a prime opportunity to boost numbers and we are electing to let it slip through our fingers.

"We have three international ports that Government has spent millions of dollars fixing up and when the cruise ships leave Friday afternoon they are absolutely dead.'' The new policy stated that Bermuda would only consider an additional cruise ship if it was a weekend `cruise and stay' where passengers would stay at local guest houses and hotels.

Mr. Casling brushed aside Government claims that the contribution air passengers made to the Island was important and could be threatened by a weekend cruise ship.

The Island was losing a major opportunity when it had the captive audience of cruise passengers here but did nothing to try and encourage them to come back as hotel visitors, he said.

"With Tourism's $33 million budget, why can't they post a couple of people from the Board of Tourism at the cruise docks telling people about what the Island has to offer?''