Shadow Tourism Minister David Dodwell yesterday said Government had stopped giving out quarterly tourism figures because it didn't believe the public had the right to know what the Progressive Labour Party (PLP) was doing.

Tourism Minister Renee Webb said in yesterday's Royal Gazette she would no longer be releasing the arrival figures on a quarterly basis, but would give them out less frequently when there is also information about spending.

Mr. Dodwell said the United Bermuda Party (UBP) had released the figures on a monthly basis since the 1960s during good times and bad, and that it was "insulting" to say Bermudians can no longer be trusted with the information.

Mr. Dodwell said: "All Bermudians should be concerned about the comments made by Tourism Minister Renee Webb.

"She doesn't want to give figures out because, like her colleagues in the Cabinet, she doesn't believe the public has any right to know what the Smith Government is doing, or in any way question what the Smith Government is doing.

"Before the PLP took power in 1998, tourism figures were released every single month going back to the early part of the 1960's.

"They were released when things were going well and they were released when things were going badly.

"We announced them because we felt that all Bermudians were partners in the tourism industry, and deserved to know the truth, no matter how uncomfortable it might be.

"The involvement of the Bermudian community in the tourism industry was the secret of our success, not a threat to it.

"You can't tell me that people who have been used to getting these figures on a regular basis for 40 years suddenly can't be trusted with them anymore. That's an insulting suggestion to make.

"We're right at the beginning of an election campaign and right in the middle of the tourism season. Surely if the Smith Government was ever to make a show of their support for transparency, this is the time to do it.

"The real problem is that some members of the Smith Government can't handle criticism, and Miss Webb is right up in the front rank of that group.

"She doesn't want us to know how tourism is doing because it is the only way we can measure how well or badly she is doing her job.

"A healthy democracy and transparency go hand in hand. If you don't have one, don't expect the other."

Former Tourism Minister David Allen stopped releasing the figures on a monthly basis, but instead gave them out on a quarterly basis in a joint press conference with Bermuda Hotel Association.

Ms Webb confirmed yesterday she will be releasing the figures on a less frequent basis, saying she feels they need to be put in the context of how arrival figures had an impact on the economy.

"You have got to put the figures in perspective, not just the numbers, but we want to compare that with the spending that takes place as a consequence, and the number of hotel beds available to fill," she said.

"The number of hotel beds has changed (since last year) so we are gathering statistics that are more meaningful to us, and hopefully more meaningful to the public as well.

"Financial information is not as readily available, and that is why there is the delay.

"Tourism in Bermuda is much more than the number of arrivals we have and you have to put it in context, and you do an injustice by saying tourism numbers or up or down without indicating what that means to the economy of Bermuda."