Parliamentarians debated about an application they agreed on for more than five hours in the House of Assembly on Friday.

Opposition agreed "in principle" with an application under the Hotel Concessions Act that would grant Palm Gardens close to $1 million in tax breaks, but many MPs used the opportunity to air grievances toward one another.

Finance Minister Eugene Cox even got into a row with Shadow Youth, Sports and Recreation Minister Patricia Gordon-Pamplin over the Smithsonian Folk Life Festival's travel budget during the debate.

A Government backbencher also used the debate to accuse the previous United Bermuda Party Government of purposefully sabotaging tourism.

Tourism Minister David Allen spoke at length about the Progressive Labour Party's (PLP) efforts to revive the ailing tourism industry.

However newly-elected Smith's South MP Maxwell Burgess heralded his return to the House with an attack on Mr. Allen's three-year effort to revive tourism and said the middle class was suffering as Mr. Allen "spends money like a drunken sailor".

Shadow Finance Minister Dr. Grant Gibbons questioned the Government's ability to account for the concessions and the benefits incurred from granting concessions.

But the hotel developers are held to strict agreements, said Mr. Allen.

The Palmetto Bay developers are exempted from land tax, not exceeding $11,000, if they market Bermuda by itself, and not side-by-side with other destinations.

And for the first year, the amount spent on marketing should be $98,000.

Mr. Allen said: "The more we do to market Bermuda and the new facility, we will be helping maximise employment opportunities to other areas such as retail and taxis.''

And they can be exempted from up to $16,000 in payroll tax if they spend 50 percent of that amount on training Bermudians.

The developers will also have an alcohol duty relief, if they hire Bermudian entertainment.

For up to five years, they have a concession of 50 percent of what they spend on Bermudian entertainment, not exceeding $12,000 in one year or $60,000 in another year.

"There is no free lunch, they must deliver," said Mr. Allen.

From the date of approval, the developers must "diligently carry out construction" and cannot open more than two years later than estimated launch dates.

The developers must also produce audited documents reflecting their spending on marketing, training Bermudian staff and show that each unit is qualified by the terms of the application.

They must also show they have hired "suitable Bermuda island-style" entertainment.

Dr. Gibbons accused Mr. Allen of "huffing and puffing for sometime".

He also asked Mr. Cox how he would be able to account for return-on-investment since the concessions would "never show up on the Budget statement because there's a difference between concessions which you chose not to collect and which you pay out".

"How does he (finance minister) intend to replace the money he would normally be collecting (from the hotel)?

"Higher taxes, higher taxes conferred on international business or local businesses? That's why accountability is so important. What we should be doing is looking at the concessions as additional spending.

"One of the broader issues that comes up with a vengeance around Budget period is if hotels are going to be given the concessions, what about night clubs and shops. Shouldn't there be some consideration there?" Dr. Gibbons asked.

Dr. Gibbons added: "It's also a matter of whether the tax payer is paying twice, maybe three times to subsidise Bermuda entertainment here.

"We know the Minister put one-and-a-half million directly into Bermuda entertainment in addition to concessions," he said.

Shadow Tourism Minister David Dodwell said Mr. Allen should cut back on spending on overseas trips and marketing, and concentrate on product development.

"If we could take $10 million to get at the systemic problem; that's where the money should be," he said.

Mr. Dodwell said according to a recent poll only 52 percent of visitors said they got value for their money.

"To go down to 52 percent is clearly not something we can accept,'' he said.

The application was passed.