The United Bermuda Party accused Government of gambling with the Island's tourist industry and asked how far visitor numbers would have to fall before Tourism Minister David Allen is sacked.

The attack in Senate came after Progressive Labour Party Senator Calvin Smith claimed Government had laid the foundations for the recovery of tourism through a partnership with workers and the private sector.

Sen. Smith reeled off a list of successes -including a new flight from St.

Louis, alcohol tax breaks for hoteliers to spend the money on Bermudian entertainment and a concession package for the potential revamping of the Castle Harbour resort - as proof that Government was moving in the right direction to revitalise tourism.

But UBP Senate leader Maxwell Burgess said the $5.7 million spent by Tourism in overseas promotions should be ploughed into improving the hospitality industry on the Island.

He noted visitor numbers increased in the last two years of the UBP administration, but that since the PLP came to power, air arrivals had fallen by 7.7 per cent and length of stay had declined by two percent.

Full Senate coverage on Page 3 Senators trade fire over `inept' Tourism minister ago that the private sector had to come out with a plan of its own. They recognise the ineptness of the minister to perform.

"I've heard how, bright, energetic, talented and tourism-educated the minister is. All these attributes are wonderful, but all that proves to me is that academic achievement doesn't mean he can do the job.'' "In this business you are judged by your performance. I don't know how many hotels could have managers saying they know more about tourism than anyone else in the world and yet numbers plummet down and down.

"What is the level of plummet that Government is not prepared to go beyond before firing him? Seven percent is acceptable.'' Sen Smith said Mr. Allen had invited the private sector to form the conduit group and claimed the decline was as a result of hotel closures.

Sen Burgess said: "Had the minister spent more time in Bermuda finding out how many first class suites he could open in Bermuda rather than how many he could stay in, Bermuda would be the better for it.'' He noted that earlier in the debate, Sen Smith said one of the areas Government was looking at to add value to the tourist experience was better sporting events yet $873,000 had been cut from the sport's budget.

Urging Government to invest the $5.7 million on the Island rather than on promotional trips, Sen Burgess said: "Until such times as we are willing to put the emphasis back on land, at home, where it counts most, we are going nowhere...

"Is he or is he not doing a job for Bermuda, and the answer, based on the bottom line numbers, has to be no.'' Sen Burgess said 44 per cent of tourists were return visitors, ten per cent were business clients, and ten per cent were people coming to visit relatives or friends.

Opening the debate, Sen Smith said tourism was vital to Bermudians at the lower end of the wage scale and if tourism was threatened people could be desperate enough to turn to crime to survive.

He said Mr. Allen and the Tourism Department's 70 staff had embarked on a year of "furious and frenetic'' activity at home and abroad.

The department had set up a group that takes daily and weekly looks at tourism developments. TWA were beginning the first flight to the Island for many years from St. Louis, flights from Atlanta are doubling, and Daniel's Head eco-resort in Sandys will open, the first new hotel development in 27 years.

Negotiations at Castle Harbour had concluded, the first 100 cruise and hotel stay visitors would arrive in May, boosting the hotel industry, and an internship programme had been established with the cruise industry.

Sen Smith said: "The emphasis is on putting Bermudians into Bermuda tourism.

Our constituency tends to be ordinary Bermudians and we have no other course but to live up to their expectations - and Bermudians are rising to the challenge.'' A blitz of travel agents in North America and Canada had been launched and new advertising agencies had been employed, resulting in a quadrupling of calls to the department.

Government had set up the private sector conduit group operating outside the Tourism Board.

He said in the past Government had met the hotel owners once a year. The PLP had had four meetings do far and another was planned.

He said the number of licensed properties had declined from 102 in 1977 to 64 in 2000. The state of "physical plant'' in Bermuda had not kept pace with other competitors and the price charged was "out of whack''.

"Visitors in Bermuda are not getting the value-added in Bermuda that they get in other competing resorts. Bermuda has not done enough to enhance the visitor experience, that goes for entertainment and transportation.'' Government was still negotiating to get a flight out of Florida and was looking at developing Hamilton wharf. Government was also co-operating in the upgrading of hotels.

He said the industry should take comfort from the fact that visitor expenditure was up by $3.6 million for the first quarter of 1999.

Government was looking at attracting baby boomers by promoting educational, heritage and eco-system attractions, as well as sports.

Government was trying to improve transportation with the new fast ferries and possibly integrating ferry routes with bus timetables.

Some $2 million has been devoted to advertising campaigns to support the new flights to the Island and Government was looking at opening a new European flight, with Frankfurt, Germany, looking the likeliest location.

The budget was up three percent to $36.9 million with most of the additional money going on to support the new air routes.

"A lot of effort has gone into restoring Bermuda tourism, and we think its succeeding,'' he said, but Bermudians must be inspired to join the industry so that staff could be trained capable of working in any hotel in the world.

UBP Sen Mark Pettingill said there had been a "slide in pride'' in the tourism industry and the traditional welcome was no longer as warm as before.

He said Government's "expat bashing'' was poisoning the Island's traditionally welcoming atmosphere. "If you have that type of approach to people living in and contributing to the community, it spills over to the rest of the world wanting to come here.

"They get this feeling that they don't really want anyone else here. It comes across in attitude.'' He said the percentage slip in visitors was "astronomical,'' adding: "Are we really making people feel across the board that we're the welcoming place we used to be? "We should always recognise the benefit of welcoming people as visitors or who live here. It's smart. We have to get away from the expat bashing because it's not just that we should be nice, it's good business.

"The best service in the world is the Bermuda of old. We've changed a lot and we need to get back to that focus. Is our reputation being tarnished? What is stopping people coming to Bermuda?'' He said the negative publicity campaigns attacking the Hamptons had been a terrible mistake.

"We need to look from the inside out by making the package better by concentrating on the people here rather than glitzy advertising.'' Senator Maxwell Burgess Senator Calvin Smith TOURISM TOU