Bermuda Tourism Board chairman and PLP backbencher Delaey Robinson described the “wonders that have been working” in Island tourism in the past three years.

The tourist product had got “a bit shabby” due to lack of investment and standards “had fallen off dramatically” and had not been addressed for the past 15-20 years, he said.

Tourism went into a nosedive and was still in “a little bit of a nosedive”, but Tourism Minister David Allen's efforts were resulting in the Island beginning to pull out of the decline, he added.

Mr. Robinson said there had been no major hotel investment - “we are not talking about a paint job” - in the past 20 years and the Progressive Labour Party set about addressing that through the Hotel Concessions Act, which had kick-started $400 million of new hotel investment.

Tax incentives were tied to performance. Land tax concessions were dependant on redevelopment of at least $1 million; payroll tax breaks were tied to training; occupancy tax relief was linked to marketing the hotel; and alcohol relief was conditional on the money being spent on Bermudian entertainment.

The relationship between Government and hotels was “a hundred-fold better” now than under the United Bermuda Party and union/management relations had also improved dramatically. The Bermuda Alliance for Tourism (BAT) brought together all the industry stakeholders, he added.

He said, like many Bermudians, he thought he would never see the day when the PLP won power, which had changed the way black Bermudians felt about tourism.

Before, the Island was marketed as though it was the Channel Islands, with black people waiting on whites. This made it difficult for Bermudians to feel they had any ownership of tourism and to participate.

For the first time, Bermuda was targeting the $590 billion of disposable wealth of the African-American community, up to $40 billion of which was spent on travel.

“We have an opportunity for a niche market that we could never have done before and this requires a change in attitude,” said Mr. Robinson. “It requires us to see that the infrastructure has not been put together by a small sector of the population, and we all had a hand in it and we all have to be proud of it.”

Cruise lines “covet” Bermuda, said Mr. Robinson, and the PLP had been right to try to wrench some extra out of the shipping companies. Now the Island had internships on line for young Bermudians.

He said Shadow Tourism Minister David Dodwell had said he would double the Tourism budget, without explaining where the money would come from. Mr. Dodwell interjected that he had not said he would double the budget in one year.

It was “simplistic and childish” for the Opposition to continue to complain about Mr. Allen's overseas travel because Bermuda's potential visitors lived abroad and had to be targeted there.

He agreed with Mr. Dodwell that Bermuda's tourism problems were “systemic” but said the Island could not afford to start from scratch because there was not time.

Rejecting UBP calls for an independent to replace the Ministry of Tourism, Mr. Robinson said: “We can't take such a significant sector of our tourism authority or economy and leave it to chance,” and said it was naive to think “all sorts of funding would come out the woodwork from the private sector”.

“I don't think the country would have any more faith in tourism authority than it has in the present Government,” he said.

Mocking Mr. Dodwell's constant calls for Government to produce a tourism plan, Mr. Robinson said he feared the Shadow Tourism Minister would never get anything done because he would always be planning.

The real problem was not that there was not a plan, but it was that Mr. Allen wouldn't share it with Mr. Dodwell, he said. “He's not going to see the plan. As much as we need to reveal the plan, we will reveal the plan,” said Mr. Robinson.

Mr. Dodwell was an experienced hotelier who knew that hotels would all like to have more rooms during peak season, so it was mischievous for him to claim Government should concentrate on filling the empty beds first before looking for extra capacity, he said.

“That was rhetoric and playing politics. I have to say, how much of his four and a half hour speech was just playing politics.”

A greater challenge than getting more and new airlines was the improved standards nationally in tourism, said Mr. Robinson. Islandwide standards needed he claimed included classes in the importance of tourism, to ensure everyone knew the importance of the industry.

Shadow Legislative Affairs and Human Rights spokesman John Barritt said Mr. Allen had to be judged by his results, not his grandiose promises.

The ‘Out of The Blue' campaign that was supposed to create a buzz about Bermuda had vanished without trace, cruise-and-fly had been a flop, the Island Carnival show at Dockyard had been a $1.5 million failure, and visitor spending was down by a projected $55 million.

The proof that the advertising campaigns had failed was that Finance Minister Eugene Cox had admitted that Bermuda was not up there in the consciousness of the people in the United States East Coast when they were thinking about holidays.

“We review the advertising agency every three years, but not the Minister of Tourism. That's an interesting philosophy but it's not for me, it's for the Premier of the country,” said Mr. Barritt.

He said it was alarming that the number of visitors who thought they were getting value for money had dropped from 66 percent in 1995 to 54 percent in 2001. “That's not just a slip, that's a drop and it has got to be of concern.” This was especially worrying because Bermuda had built its tourist base on repeat visitors who felt they were getting value for money.

Mr. Barritt said it was “extraordinary and crazy” that at a time when Bermuda is trying to attract visitors that it will not allow anyone to spend more than three weeks on the Island without leaving and returning.

Supporting the UBP's call for an independent tourist authority, he said the example of Bermuda International Business Association showed showed these organisations thrive without bureaucratic interference.

“We are convinced more and more each day that this is direction to take. Others are doing it successfully, what have we got to lose?” The UBP supported BAT but “we would go the whole ten yards in developing a tourism authority”.

“If it is broke, fix it. That's the message we're trying to send out. Bring in different sections of the community and give them ownership. I believe people will measure up because I trust them and I have faith in them.”

In a message to Mr. Allen, he said: “People will measure you not by your predictions and promises, but by results.” Community Affairs and Sports Minister Randy Horton said the PLP was putting hope back into tourism. He admitted: “We are not happy where we are. Tourism is down. Everyone in Bermuda knows that, but other competitive destinations are having serious challenges.”

He said he was tired of hearing “doom and gloom” stories in the House and in the media, and he wanted to inject hope into tourism.

The Dow Jones and NASDAQ markets in the US were up and the US recession seemed to be at an end, which was a reason for optimism in Bermuda, he said.

He agreed with Mr. Dodwell that standards needed to be raised to attract the most discerning travellers in the world, so the “wow” factor would be put back into Bermuda. “Let's stand together to improve the level of service we are giving our visitors,” he said.

The PLP was making more than a token appeal to get African American visitors to Bermuda to get a slice of that market. Opposition Whip Maxwell Burgess said there would continue to be problems unless the PLP acknowledged Mr. Allen was part of the problem.

He accused the PLP of being complacent and enjoying Government salaries while tourism workers were suffering as result in the drop in visitor arrivals.

“There is none so blind as those who can't see and who have the benefit of a salary from elsewhere. Cab drivers are hurting, hotel workers are hurting, retail workers are hurting and there is a Government that has fallen prey to the trappings of power at the expense of the workers.”

Mr. Allen hit back angrily that no one in the Cabinet was living in luxury and all had given sacrifices for the job.

“I'm earning a lot less than when I was in the private sector and every minister has made sacrifices to be in Government.” He said Government had shown its commitment to the people of Bermuda through the investment attracted by the Hotel Concessions Act.

The Tourism Minister in Cayman had described Bermuda Alliance for Tourism as “cutting edge” said Mr. Allen.