A bi-partisan tourism authority should be set up to run the ailing industry if that is what is needed, Tourism Minister Renee Webb said last night in a statement which flew in the face of Government policy.

She told a public forum on tourism that the industry was in “crisis” and radical changes were needed if it was to survive.

The Progressive Labour Party has been against the Opposition idea of a tourism authority.

Last night Ms Webb said tourism was an economic, not a political issue, and in response to a question, stated: “If it takes a tourism authority, or whatever other name we need, to drive it and fix it, we need to do it. The commitment needs to be there.”

Earlier, she told the standing room only crowd at Number One shed in Hamilton: “We must become aware of the need to change in order to move forward.

“We have to make some hard decisions about where we want Bermuda to be and how we want to service our visitors if we want to stay in the tourism business.

“We will develop a vision in the next couple of months of where Bermuda is going, where we would like to be in five years and 10 years, and if we believe we can't turn around tourism, we need to turn off the money tap and look at different ways of diversifying.”

The industry was in “crisis” because of the arrogance of the past where Bermuda thought it knew best what visitors wanted.

“The days of giving the tourist what we think they want is over. The days of giving the tourist what they want are here. We need to deliver or get out of the tourism business,” she said.

Further public forums are likely to be held on the vexed question of whether a casino should he allowed on the island.

Ms Webb was joined on the panel by Bermuda.com founder Tony Brannon, Wayne Smith of Bermuda Alliance for Tourism, Shadow Tourism Minister David Dodwell, Rolfe Commissiong of Black Star Communications, Chamber of Commerce President Charles Gosling, Greg Haycock of Bermuda International Business Association, and lawyer Julian Hall.

Mr. Brannon, the founder of the newly former Tourism Action Now said giving visitors more to do was the key.

He said a world class tourism professional should run a new tourism authority with the Tourism Minister focussing on policy.

There should be a casino at the former US Naval Base Morgan's Point in Southampton, gaming rooms in all hotels, and a nude beach beach.

He called for an end to the red tape which was strangling entertainment. “Entertainment must be driven by what the customer wants, not the Immigration Department and a dysfunctional musicians' union”.

Mr. Smith said Bermuda should implement a recent golf report to exploit the Island's wealth of golf courses and should have a central reservations system.

Mr. Dodwell said he was pleased to be invited and said Ms Webb had shown tourism could be outside of politics.

He said ensuring every resident had an appreciation of tourism was vital for recovery of the industry because “we've taken the visitor and tourism for granted for too long, and we know it”.

Arguing for a tourism authority, he gave a long list of successful countries around the world were tourism was out of the hands of government.

Mr. Commissiong argued for an upscale casino to give added value to visitors, but it was not a panacea for tourism's problems.

He said international business, while bringing great wealth, had driven up the cost of living and of holidays, and had and helped lead to an “urban/suburban” look that had changed the Island's traditional ambience.

Mr. Gosling argued for Morgan's Point to be developed into a world class tourist venue with PGA standard golf course, and he said the PLP had promised duty-free shopping in 1998, yet nothing had happened.

The waterfront in Hamilton was a wasted under-used resource, and the Island needed to have shops open on Sundays and public holidays to facilitate visitors.

The Chamber did not have a position on a casino, but the Island needed to look at something more on the lines of Monte Carlo than Atlantic City.

Mr. Haycock said international business had concentrated on its core markets of London and New York and suggested tourism should do the same.

As well as providing good accountants and lawyers, Bermuda's taxi drivers and hotel and restaurant staff needed to be courteous and friendly to make them feel welcome.

Conference visitors needed more entertainment and new air routes were essential.

Mr. Haycock said international business had brought great wealth to Bermudians, and with only 1,300 out of 8,000 work permits holders in that sector, he denied it added put a burden on the Island's infrastructure.

Mr. Hall said: “This Island is a bore. We have a very long history of repressing personal freedoms and we have a lot of nerve to think that we deserve to get any visitors at all.”Arguing for a casino, said there was no legislation prohibiting casinos.

The people who ran Bermuda in the past met in cabals and simply declared things illegal, without passing laws, he said.

Arguing for a tourism authority, he said: “The issue is too important to be left to the adversarial (system) of talk, talk, report, report, and no action”