Former Tourism Minister Renee Webb found Government's departure from the Elliot Ettenberg report "disconcerting", the backbencher told last night.

The Ettenberg report, conducted last year by North American consultants Ettenberg & Company, Inc., called ? among other things ? for Tourism in Bermuda to streamline its spending, focusing more funds on gateway cities on the US East Coast.

Though Ms Webb promptly embraced the report during her tenure as Minister, her replacement Ewart Brown has stated Tourism will be expanding its focus under his watch ? particularly to Europe.

Mr. Ettenberg himself is also no longer retained by the Department, Ms Webb said, despite still having three or four months left on his contract.

"The Ettenberg report was adopted by Cabinet, it was not just a Ministerial initiative," she said, adding that made the change "difficult to understand".

"It's not like there was a change in Government," she added.

Now, however, Tourism is "back to the old UBP initiative of going out and getting tourists from all over ... Yes, it's a much more scattershot approach than under myself."

While Mr. Ettenberg himself may have "ruffled some feathers", Ms Webb said the results of his recommendations spoke for themselves.

"He was doing an excellent job ... The point was to bring people to Bermuda.

"Forty percent of our visitors are from the New York area. That should be a big driving force. Why are we trying to get airlines from all over the place?

"The focus should be on the Eastern seaboard, Canada, and the UK ... Why fix something if it isn't broken? It was working."

Government has already tried to attract visitors from Germany and Italy, two countries singled out by Dr. Brown, Ms Webb said. "It failed."

Ms Webb also said she would welcome a Tourism Authority on the Island, shifting the focus from Tourism as another Government department to Tourism as a business.

"It is the only Government department in charge of running something that's a revenue earner for the economy," she explained.

Tourism Authorities are already well established in many Caribbean countries as well as the UK, she said. A CEO and a Board would be in charge, running it more like a quango than a department. Such a shift in focus would mean "clearly people would have to be held more accountable", she said, though the relationship of the Minister with the Tourism Authority would be much the same as that between the Minister and the Department.

Ms Webb also said during her tenure she was making moves towards promoting Bermuda as a golfing destination.

Dr. Brown has been vocal in his desire to send the off-season to the graveyard and leave Bermuda open year-round, with the golf-and-spa season stretching from November to March.

"Bermuda definitely could shift into golf," Ms Webb said.