Bermuda will soon be indistinguishable from other, highly competitive `sun, sand and sea' destinations unless it takes the leap into eco-cultural tourism.

This is the opinion of long-time former resident and regular visitor to the Island Mr. Andrew Stevenson, who works as a conservation/tourism consultant in Africa on behalf of the Norwegian and Swedish governments.

Back in Bermuda for a brief holiday, he made the further observation, during an interview with The Royal Gazette , that the tourist-related problems facing Africa right now are similar to those that must be tackled by Bermuda.

"From my experiences in Africa, I would say that the Island is in danger of making the same mistakes that have been made there. Bermuda should not be following the mass tourism model. That can work well in big countries, but not here. Bermuda should be making a massive effort to attract people who are interested in authentic cultural, natural environment-type holidays. I'm surprised that Bermuda hasn't made more of an effort in all this, because there is no doubt that this is the tourism of the future.'' Part of the problem in Africa, he noted, was that `experts' followed the American system for establishing national parks. "The nature areas in Africa have had a lot of failures. Some of the plans they copied were fine for the United States, but not for Africa, where they were converting huge areas into safari parks while, at the same time, turning the people off their own land.'' This, he pointed out, has caused resentment against park officials, and compounded problems with the wildlife, predators and other animals such as elephants, which are ruining crops.

The latest theory, he said -- and one which he believes should be adopted in Bermuda -- is to educate the population on the economic importance of conservation, and to then include that population in the planning and running of conservation/tourist areas, so that everyone has a vested interest in its success.

"As a consultant, it's my job to advise local communities in Africa as to where their best clients are likely to come from, and how to make their product more attractive, in both the existing parks and the new ones.'' Belatedly, he commented, officials are now realising that many of the traditional methods of conservation, as practised by the indigenous people, are often the most suitable.

Noting that several Bermudians have asked him what "vested interest'' Norway and Sweden have in assisting Africa, he replied, "Nothing. Scandinavia has a deep conviction that it would contribute to the health and welfare of other nations. In the past, overseas aid has been handed out without too much thought as to how it might best be employed.'' It was when Mr. Stevenson married a Norwegian that he found himself developing what he calls "soft adventure'' holidays for summer visitors and it is his experience in this field that leads him to believe that a similar programme, already adopted to a certain extent in parts of Africa, is also very suitable for Bermuda.

"When I went to live in Norway, a lot of options were closed to me because I couldn't speak the language. So that encouraged me to start my own business, a rafting and adventure holiday business that attracted slightly older people. I was attracting tourists who like to stay in five-star hotels and fan out from there. The Bermuda Biological Station's Elderhostel programme, which seems to be very successful, could be developed by the hotels here. It took some time for the Norwegian government to listen to what I was telling them, but they are now realising that older people bring in a lot more money than youth hostels.'' Similar programmes that could be adopted here, he believes, include bicycling holidays (especially along the railway trails) and walking holidays that could tie in with such attractions as historic buildings, horticulture, flora and fauna and, because Bermuda is in the flight path of many migratory North American birds, the increasingly popular pastime of birding. Many tourists, he points out, love to see the less obvious aspects of a country, seeing parts that are normally missed, such as the back gardens with their chickens, and secret lanes `off the beaten track'.

"Bermuda has so much to offer. There are still many unspoilt areas of great beauty. You could do sea-kayaking, for example, very successfully. It's a very popular sport that doesn't upset the environment because there are no motors, no smelly engines guzzling gas, and no noise. You travel slow enough to really appreciate the scenery around you and this could tie in with other nature-oriented holidays, such as snorkelling, diving, bird watching, and so on.'' Noting that the fish population is looking much healthier since the fish pot ban was imposed, Mr. Stevenson said that the related improvement in the state of the coral reefs would support the type of tourism he envisages for the future -- "NOT lying about on the beaches, frying in the sun, and then crowding into town to buy Bermuda T-shirts made in Taiwan! Mass tourism is putting a tremendous strain on the Island's infrastructure and ruining its natural resources.'' Government, he believes, needs to recognise the trends that will dominate world tourism in the year 2000 and give a `leg-up' now to private enterprise people to get a more imaginative approach off the ground: "Otherwise,'' he warned, "they're going to kill the goose that laid their golden egg. Bermuda simply has to keep up, never mind stay ahead of its competitors.'' Canadian-born Andrew Stevenson is the son of William Stevenson, the best-selling author of `A Man Called Intrepid', and brother of Kevin Stevenson, publisher of The Bermudian magazine. Explaining that his family moved here in 1976, he says that although he has lived in many different countries and travels all over the world, he still considers Bermuda home.

"Kevin and my sister, Jackie, both married Bermudians. My father was a World War II pilot and after the war, we lived all over the place.'' His love-affair with the African continent probably stretches back to the three years he spent in Kenya as a child, followed by ten years in other African countries. He worked with the United Nations Development programme in Tanzania and then started his own safari business. "It did so well, the government decided to take it over, so I left.'' Then followed what he describes as a very successful five-year period as a stockbroker with Merrill, Lynch, which would also set him in good stead for the business aspect of his future development programmes in Africa. When he joined one such organisation in Canada, he was soon going off to visit communities in Africa and Asia, travelling eight months a year, eventually being appointed the company's overall director.

"So all this experience is coming together now, in my work for the Scandinavian governments. It takes in the private sector, government and community development''.

Last year, he even found time to write a book about a three-month trek he had made around the Himalayas, carrying a 50-pound back-pack.

"I managed to visit Mustang, a semi-autonomous kingdom within Nepal, peopled by the Khampas, warrior-types from Tibet who formed their own community and were funded by the CIA in an effort to hassle the Chinese. The whole kingdom was sealed off from Westerners. You can go in now, as long as you are escorted by police officers. But I just rented a horse and rode off. I heard later that at one point, an army helicopter was looking for me, but by that time I was back in Nepal. I've put all this in my book and I've just found a publisher who wants to publish it.'' Mr. Stevenson said he was disappointed, in this latest holiday, to hear a visitor to Bermuda comment that there was no Bermuda culture. "He was saying that Bermuda was just about commercialism and consumerism. That's a shame because the Island has a lot more to offer than that. It just needs to think very carefully about the future, the kind of visitor it wants to attract. As I see it, you should be looking at educated, professional types who are interested in learning all about Bermuda's culture and environment. All these comments that I've made apply equally to Bermuda or Namibia, or wherever.'' Namibia, in south-western Africa, is where Mr. Stevenson is currently lending his expertise.

"In some ways, the capital, Windhoek, reminds me of Bermuda, as in both places you have black and white races working alongside. Namibia is a very integrated country where everyone lives harmoniously together. There's been a great spirit of reconciliation there. They've all agreed to put the past behind them and use each other's strengths and weakness to their mutual advantage in building the country up again since it was colonised by South Africa. So the white farmers and the `swapo' guerrillas, who all used to be madly chasing one another, are the best of friends now!'' Mr. Stevenson, who is also a qualified pilot, says he loves to fly over the beautiful and vast Namibia desert.

"I fly over land that was there one hundred million years ago. When we live in man-made environments, we get too wrapped up in our own importance and material things. The Namibia desert brings me back to basics, what is really important in this world, what is worth preserving.'' CONSERVING THE BEST OF BERMUDA -- Mr. Andrew Stevenson, expert on African eco-cultural tourism, speaks out on the future of Bermuda's premier industry.