Bermuda's attempt this week to become an associate member of the World Tourism Organisation (WTO) has been embroiled in controversy and was yesterday put on hold due to uncertainty about the Island's national status.

And, according to Government, the decision has caused such concern at the WTO meeting in Beijing, China, that Secretary-General Francesco Frangialli, and his deputy, Dawid de Villers, are so exasperated they will not seek re-election when their terms expire.

Tourism Minister Renee Webb said yesterday she was disappointed at the WTO decision because Bermuda was a major tourism destination.

A Government statement, quoting sources at the meeting, said Spain objected to Bermuda joining WTO, apparently because the Island is a British colony.

The row at the conference escalated when it was pointed out that seven “regions”, - including Hong Kong, Macau in China, and the Portuguese island of Madeira - had associate membership.

The Spanish, according to the Government statement yesterday, responded that these places were admitted before changes to the regulations and statutes of the WTO.

The Government statement said “industry sources” said the Spanish objection probably had nothing to do with Bermuda but was more about concern about devolution in its own regions.

Ms Webb said yesterday: “Although Bermuda did not have a representative at this conference, we had applied for Associate Membership status by legally submitting the necessary documents via the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London, as per usual, and we had the full support of the WTO's Secretary-General, Francesco Frangialli.

“Bermuda is a major tourism destination that could both contribute to and benefit from the foremost tourism organisation in the world.

“I must note that we are grateful for the worldwide support that our application has received and saddened by the few objections raised. Later this week, our application submission will be revisited, and clearly we will be following the proceedings closely to see what transpires.”

The Government statement said Mr. Frangialli called upon member states to “understand that the only way for WTO to remain strong was to continue to work with Associate Members - such as Bermuda - while ensuring that the organisation would continue to be basically inter-governmental”.

It said Richard Gordon, the Secretary of Tourism at the Philippines, said tourism had survived September 11, SARS, the Iraq war and the economic turndown only to create its own crisis by not admitting Bermuda.

Last night Shadow Tourism Minister David Dodwell said he had been caught cold by the development and didn't even know Bermuda was applying to join the WTO.

Mr. Dodwell said: “I just read about this application today on an online site and I was not aware of it.

“I am curious about the costs and benefits of belonging to such an organisation and whether associate membership is better than being represented as part of the UK.”

The Madrid-based WTO is the world's leading tourism organisation with a membership of 149 countries.