Opposition leader Grant Gibbons last night criticised Government for agreeing to pay an unknown amount towards a Caribbean tourism marketing programme which he claimed would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

And he warned it could be the "thin end of a wedge" in which the Island would be increasingly called upon to contribute towards marketing a region which was a competitor to Bermuda.

Premier Jennifer Smith told MPs last Friday that Bermuda had agreed to pay towards the cost of the $16 million marketing campaign to re-launch Caribbean tourism in the wake of September 11, but the Island did not agree with the amount it was being asked to pay. Ms Smith did not reveal how much Bermuda was being asked to contribute.

The initiative, agreed at a conference in Nassau, Bahamas, two weeks ago, is being led by the Caribbean Tourism Organisation, of which Bermuda is a member, and the Caribbean Hotel Association, to which Bermuda Hotel Association belongs. The Caribbean Community (CARICOM), which the Progressive Labour Party Government is considering applying for associate membership status, has agreed to pay $4 million, but Ms Smith said there was "significant uncertainty" about how much non-CARICOM CTO members, such as Bermuda, should pay.

Dr. Gibbons said last night that informed sources had told him Bermuda's share of the bill will be "several hundred thousand dollars" and that there was not enough money left in the Department of Tourism marketing budget for the current fiscal year.

"We are very concerned about the prospect of Bermuda being asked to pay what we understand to be hundreds of thousands of dollars towards a regional marketing plan," he told The Royal Gazette.

"We note the Premier stated that Bermuda had agreed to contribute, but had not settled on an amount and that Bermuda's contribution will be met out of the current Tourism marketing budget.

"We understand that there's currently insufficient funding for the rest of the fiscal year for the Department of Tourism to meet this. Since the September 11 challenges, there really isn't a lot of money left for tourism, so this regional marketing programme further exacerbates an already insufficient fund."

He added: "Not only is there insufficient funding, but from a regional perspective, Bermuda is not even in the Caribbean and we are contributing towards a marketing programme for that region.

"From a seasonality point of view, Bermuda is the only country whose tourism season is different from the rest of them in Caribbean.

"There is a great concern that Bermuda could get sucked into a very expensive marketing programme with the prospect of others to follow and this is just the thin end of the wedge of what would be very inappropriate spending that we may not derive much benefit from."

Dr. Gibbons added that Bermuda was in competition with many Caribbean countries for tourists.

He said the Bahamas Tourism Minister Tommy Turnquest told CNN on December 11 that there were "creative problems" with the adverts and that they will not be ready until February.