at comments made during a Wednesday afternoon PLP press conference.

Tourism Minister David Dodwell said his opposite number, Shadow Tourism Minister David Allen's referral to low air arrivals as an indication of how poorly tourism was doing was a sign of the Opposition living in the past.

Year-to-date hotel occupancy is up, year-to-date room nights are up, each visitor is spending more money than the year before and staying longer, Mr.

Dowell said.

"These are the true indicators that our five year plan, Tourism 2002, is working for all of us,'' he said. "The plans and the focus that are in place for tourism came from the Monitor process. That means they came from the people of Bermuda.

"If Mr. Allen keeps attacking that which he does not understand, let me be clear that he is trying to rip the very important process of cooperation, understanding and commitment that these Bermudians have joined with each other to attain.

"If we try and recapture a time that is gone, we will fail,'' he warned.

"By the time they retread the old ground, we will have lost the new attitude of cooperation, the new focus that all our industry partners are buying into and the new investment that we have all worked so hard to attract to Bermuda.

"The devastation to Bermuda's tourism will be quick and complete.'' POLITICS PTL