blistering attack on cruise ships.

The Caribbean Hotel Association says more controls are needed to prevent the giant "floating hotels'' wrecking island economies.

It wants more taxes and restrictions on the giant ships, and has suggested Bermuda's system could be a model.

But local CHA official Mr. John Jefferis says the Island can still do more to help its hotels.

The CHA, based in Puerto Rico, has the Bermuda Hotel Association as a member.

"Today's cruise operations must be seen for what they are, a wonderfully successful form of commercial colonisation of the Caribbean,'' said Mr. John Bell, CHA executive vice-president.

The industry operates one berth for every three hotel rooms in the region, with more planned, he said. There were about 100,000 hotel rooms in the region generating $9 billion and employing 465,000 nationals.

But 57,000 cruise berths brought visitors who spent only $500 million, and employed very few locals.

"The hotels in the region carry a large share of the tax burden, and the cruise ships sail off escaping virtually tax free.'' Less competitive hotels could lead to job losses, he added.

"The cruise industry has increased its presence with such a force as to threaten the delicate economic balance that now exists.

"Cruise lines bring people into the Caribbean, but it remains questionable whether or not these people spend any real money on the islands, since everything is offered on board.

"No-one is complaining that the cruise lines don't generate interest in the Caribbean. Nor are we seeking to stop the ships coming. The issue is to ensure they make an adequate contribution to the regional economies and that the competition between the ships and the shore-based industry is fair.'' The CHA has formed a task force of tourism experts, headed by former Jamaican Prime Minister Mr. Michael Manley, to work out if the region is getting the "short end of the dollar'' when it comes to cruise ships.

Mr. Bell said the task force would examine the question of whether taxes on ships should go up, whether the ships harmed the environment by dumping and how much their passengers spent.

In Bermuda, cruise ships must pay $60 per passenger in tax every time they leave the Island -- the highest passenger tax in the region.

Government has also banned weekend visits and kept the number of cruise ship passengers down, following complaints that they made little economic impact and caused congestion.

"Some of the people in the private sector in other islands have said they should take a look at Bermuda,'' said another CHA spokesman, who asked not to be named.

"It has an enlightened government in that it has put responsibility on the cruise lines to maintain a proper balance on incoming tourists.'' Mr. John Jefferis, managing director at Elbow Beach, is a member of the CHA executive committee.

He said Bermuda, with its stricter policies, was a "little different'' from other islands.

"But the drawback to the way the cruise ships operate in Bermuda is that they stay here longer than is normal in the Caribbean ports. It's rather like having a hotel on Front Street.

"They are not nearly as involved in the community and they're not nearly as heavily taxed as a hotel would be. So their commitment is significantly less that a hotel in Bermuda and their exposure with regard to costs is significantly less.'' The attitude of Bermuda hoteliers to cruise ships is not "quite so rampant'' as it is in the Caribbean, he said.

"But it's still unfair competition,'' he said. "There should be a more advantageous tax system towards the hotels, which would cause a levelling of the playing field.'' Mr. Jefferis agreed with the view that Bermuda had a more enlightened cruise ship policy. But he added: "You could say that the costs here for hotels are much higher than in the Caribbean.''