of Friday's coverage from the House of Assembly *** United Bermuda Party MP John Barritt , speaking to the Hotel Concessions Act during Friday afternoon's session of the House of Assembly, asked what would be done if a developer, after building condominiums to finance a hotel, decided that the hotel was not a viable business option.

"One has to think of all the possibilities,'' he said.

And he wondered if Bermudians would be able to fill the jobs created by the new properties if they took off.

He asked what requirements would be imposed on non-Bermudian purchasers of the properties, including whether or not they would be able to own cars.

Mr. Barritt noted that waiving occupancy taxes would create an uneven playing field for hotels who still had to pay occupancy taxes. He said that older hotels may decide to renovate, they would want the same concessions and Government would lose tax that it had previously budgeted for.

St. George's North MP Delaey Robinson said Bermuda needed to focus on the development of small, boutique hotels rather than large-scale resorts.

"Bermuda needs to recognise its strengths,'' he said.

"Tourists coming here are not looking for sun and sand. We cannot ever hope to be a volume destination.'' Mr. Robinson said the concessions would "catapult the country into a reinvented Bermuda''.

But Opposition Whip Cole Simons asked where the revitalisation plan for tourism was.

"The hotel concession act is not the bee's knees, it will not save the industry by itself,'' he said.

"It's fine getting the people here, but we need to entertain them after they arrive.'' And Mr. Simons implored Government to implement a rescue plan if hotels did not become viable after the first five years of Government concessions.

Shadow Development & Opportunity Minister Allan Marshall said he was delighted to see that Government had removed the 40 room minimum to allow all hotels to benefit from the legislation, but added that the present bill had some flaws.

"Where is the financing that's going to this sector (through concessions) going to come from?'' he asked. Mr. Marshall noted that hotels currently provide government with $15 million in the form of payroll, occupancy and land taxes.

And he said governments typically "laid out the red carpet'' to developers to create jobs, but the Island currently enjoyed over-employment.

"The whole basis for offering incentives and concessions is challenged from the start,'' he said.