response to the Budget Shadow Tourism Minister David Dodwell told Members of the House he was dismayed the tourism industry had been relegated to the second most important industry on the Island.

And he accused Mr. Allen of failing to grasp the problems or come up with a plan to kick start the failing industry.

Mr. Dodwell said Transport Minister Dr. Ewart Brown had taken a more active role in air passengers and should be the one responsible for coming up with Bermuda's Air Service Strategy.

He said Government had failed to deliver on many of its tourism promises, and said nothing would be achieved by ploughing more money into marketing.

He said: "We have not seen innovation. We have not seen anything new.'' The Shadow Minister said money was channelled into the wrong places, and he said the people in the street were asking questions as why we now had a "Premier that cost the taxpayer $1 million a year'' in security and upkeep.

He said it was the small things, such as Minister's travel that the people noticed.

But on tourism, he said Government should stop hiding behind marketing, and instead try to improve the product because tourists did not believe they got value for money on the Island.

He said: "Our customers, our visitors are voting with their feet and their wallets. What started off with a 100-day rescue mission (from David Allen) has turned into a 850-day failure.'' And he said the budget had said Government "hoped'' the tourism industry would turn around this year.

Mr. Dodwell said: "Hope is not the answer. Plans are the answer, Action is the answer, Missions are the answer. Hope is not going to do it. Is hope all that the PLP Government can do after its 1998 promises''.

And Mr. Dodwell said a tourism board, made up with both representatives from the private and public sector should be formed to take the spending decision away from the political arena and Mr. Allen alone.

He accused Mr. Allen of refusing to admit failure on some projects, thus putting a stop to them, because he did not want to appear like he had failed.

"It needs putting in the hands of an unbiased, non-political board. We would have all of this nonsense eliminated.'' Responding to the attack, St. George's North MP Delaey Robinson said Government was approaching the tourism portfolio with a long-term focus because it will "almost certainly see a second term''.

Mr. Robinson took on Shadow Finance Minister Grant Gibbons' characterisation of the PLP Government as a "throw-money'' Government: "You have to look at where we are throwing the money,'' he said. "We're throwing it at a social agenda and fixing largely neglected social problems.

The real difference between this Government and the former one is that we tend to think in the long-term, we're not in it for the quick fix.

"We're almost certainly going to see a second term, I don't think that it's cocky to say that, and much of our spending addresses long-term issues.'' He pointed to spending in areas such as public education and health as examples of the Government's long-term strategy.

"When you make education investments, you don't expect to see returns any time soon. It'll be ten to 15 years before those return to roost,'' he said.