A TOURISM activist is urging Government to get out of the industry and let it be run by an independent authority made up of key stakeholders.

And campaigner Tony Brannon believes that, unless politics is kicked out of the second pillar of the island's economy, the industry will never revive.

Speaking on the eve of a Government-organised tourism summit, Mr. Brannon unveiled a three-point plan which he believes will kickstart a U-turn in the industry's plummeting fortunes.

He said that an independent tourism authority should be set up by Government, which should also provide a 20-year tax break for hoteliers, bars and restaurants, entertainers and others in the hospitality industry.

And he also believes that gambling should be made legal so that casinos can set up as an added attraction to visitors.

Mr. Brannon, who was not invited to attend today's summit, said that, while everyone was working hard within the system, visitor arrival figures proved that the system itself was broken and needed to be overhauled.

"If international business was dependent on Government running it the way that Tourism is, international business would be out of business," he said "The industry has to be taken out of the realm of Government and a business model applied to it.

"Sure, Government does need to provide the framework in order for it to be successful but other than that it shouldn't be involved. It needs to put a tourism authority in place and also provide it with funding. But the authority should otherwise be run like a business ¿ with a CEO and a team that will come up with a business plan and vision that all the stakeholders buy into.

"It should operate as a complete umbrella of the tourism industry for everyone, whether they're running a hotel or restaurant or in the entertainment sector.

"The second thing Government needs to do is give the industry a tax holiday. In Panama there's currently a 20-year real estate tax holiday and that makes people want to invest in the place.

"And thirdly, we need to get over this gaming issue hump. If casinos were allowed to operate here, that would provide our visitors with something extra. It's all about giving people choice.

"People have this issue with casinos and always come up with possible drawbacks such as social problems but when you think about it, we already have Internet gambling ¿ you can empty your credit cards on the Internet ¿ and Bermudians also go to Las Vegas.

"It's like anything ¿ if you want to become an alcoholic you can go into a bar and drink yourself to death but most Bermudians don't and it's exactly the same with gambling. They're pretty sensible and they limit themselves. People also go on about it bringing in prostitutes and other things ¿ well, I didn't see any prostitution in the Marriott Hotel in St. Kitts, which has a casino. What I did see was loads of families."

Mr. Brannonsaid that some politicians and bureaucrats regarded the industry as an opportunity to make money, which resulted in decisions being made for personal, rather than business reasons.

He pointed out that hotels were struggling against cruise ships, which had an unfair advantage over resorts.

And he said that a revolving door of personnel created uncertainty within the sector ¿ which in turn frightened off investors.

"If Government got together with the UBP and set up a tourism authority, there would be a huge sigh of relief from the industry," he said.

"Then we would all know that we've got a team in place and it doesn't matter if the Premier gets kicked out because we would have a team that could run this beast called Tourism.

"I also think that people get a little bit greedy and start getting their fingers in the pie ¿ for example, this Morgan's Point land-swap thing doesn't sit well with me. Government came to the rescue of a handful of private businessmen. What about the rest of us Bermudians? That property could have been used for the rebirth of Tourism ten years ago but everyone was fighting over it ¿ as if it was their land, their prize to carve up.

"And are these other developments going ahead? Has Carl Bazarian got his funding in place to rebuild Club Med? Has Sonesta got its funding in place? Has Par-la-Ville got its funding in place? What is the credit like out there?

"We have the credit crunch going on and so we have to ask if these developments really are forthcoming. When are they going to start building? We know when they're going to start knocking down. Under a Tourism Authority everything would be out in the open.We would know where we are with all this.

"The thing is, in the investment world you want to have certainty and if politics is controlling the thing that you want to invest in you don't have any certainty. It can chop and change with different ministers and directors to deal with. With an authority, people will know what they're dealing with.

"At the moment, all we hear are these occasional pronouncements being made. We don't know what the plan is, or even if there is a plan. It's all shrouded in Government secrecy and skullduggery when it needs to be open and transparent and involve all the players.

"Government needs to get out of the way and let private enterprise get on with it.

"All Government has to do is set up the structure ¿ set up the Tourism Authority, give us the tax break and legalise casinos ¿ that's all they have to do and then we can turn this thing around."