Shadow Tourism Minister David Dodwell called on Government to sort out problems at the airport which saw visitors waiting for hours to clear customs on Tuesday.

And Transport Minister Dr. Ewart Brown admitted one visitor had spent more time in the queue than on the flight over from New York.

Mr. Dodwell said Government had denied there was a go-slow but he added that something was not right at the airport.

He said: "I can't buy the explanation that the same thing happens every year when the new tourist season comes. That's not acceptable, it if happens every year you prepare for it."

He said tourists paid thousands of dollars for holidays which were made up mainly of memories which could easily be soured by bad experiences.

And he reminded Government that more than half of visitors surveyed said they were not getting value for money at is was.

Dr. Brown said delays in visitor arrivals were a concern but he said preliminary inquiries revealed there was nothing sinister but that new staff were finding their feet after recent changes in customs and immigration.

He agreed that rises in arrivals because of the new tourist season was no excuse for long delays and that creative shifting of staff might alleviate bottlenecks.

He said: "If we detect problems we will look at the problem in an earnest manner and we will fix it."

But backbencher Wayne Perinchief offered a vote of support to Customs and Immigrations officers at the airport.

He said the backlog at the airport reflected many things including the beginning of tourist season.

On the bright side, he said, the officers have recorded a near three-fold increase in the detecting those attempting to evade duty on goods coming into the country at the airport.

In the first quarter of the year there was a 273 percent increase in detecting cases of revenue evasion with 67 seizures of goods against 18 seizures in the first quarter of last year.

Mr. Perinchief also suggested that some tourist properties are reporting near total occupancy for the month and expecting strong numbers throughout the summers.