but said he feels they need to be more comprehensive.

Shadow Tourism Minister David Allen told The Royal Gazette that it was "nice'' for the small visitor accommodations to be recognised because they were an important part of Bermuda's diverse tourism industry.

But he added that he felt it was unrealistic for larger properties to have to compete on the same playing field as them.

Mr. Allen said hotel achievement awards were one of the things the PLP Government had said they would like to implement during a Press conference in September, 1993.

He said he was glad the UBP had taken up the idea which he thought was a good programme.

However, he said he felt it required more categories which specifically singled out the larger resort hotels with two to three hundred beds or more.

Attention to detail and elements of infrastructure were more achievable on smaller properties than these larger hotels and the award scheme should reflect this, said Mr. Allen.

The recently introduced Hotel Merit Awards are awarded to the three categories of hotels, housekeeping properties and guest houses.

Recipients must obtain the highest standards in the areas of accommodation,health and fire safety.

However, a Tourism official recently clarified what properties need to do to achieve the award.

Administration assistant director Carol Wills said all 79 properties licensed by the Department were entitled to win the award.

To receive the award they had to meet the same criteria as they did to be licensed but obtain the highest possible marks.

The idea behind the concept, explained senior hotel inspector Barbara Willis, was for hotels of all sizes to improve their standards to meet the expectations of the Island's visitors.

There had been a positive response to the award scheme, she continued, because all the properties were now gunning for the award.

Mr. Allen stressed that he felt the hotels which received awards deserved them and he was glad they had been recognised.

In the future, he added, he would like to see the award scheme expanded to cover all areas of the hotel industry -- such as personnel -- and not just accommodations.

Mrs. Wills said the idea of grading personnel on their service, personality and skill was been looked at but there were no plans to implement this yet.

She added that this was presently being done by other regulating bodies such as the American Automobile Association and Relais Chateaux.