Bermudians will become wealthier only if the entire nation changes its way of thinking, according to foreign tourism experts.

Almost 50 people attended yesterday's lunchtime meeting sponsored by the Monitor Group, which is a company hired by Government and the private business sector to examine the problems in Bermuda's tourism industry and suggest solutions.

Monitor's country competitiveness division chief Michael Fairbanks emphasised the need for change in the way that Bermudians view the tourism industry.

"The curse of Bermuda is, we've been too successful for too long. Bermudians need to acknowledge that we're overdependent on the beauty and location of the Island,'' said Mr. Fairbanks.

"We need to understand that economic growth and social equity are the same thing... you can't have one without the other, and everybody gets rich if we do this right.'' But many members of the noontime audience were skeptical, noting that longstanding problems needed to be addressed before the tourism industry could improve.

One man who described himself as a Bermudian from the "Back of Town'' area said a minority of people in Bermuda still controlled the majority of the Island's capital.

"This Country has got to be shared,'' he said. "We are not happy in this Country because we're not participating.'' A woman in the audience noted the importance of individual responsibility in creating success for all Bermudians.

She stated: "We as Bermudians don't trust each other -- we know who our neighbours are, we have to start talking to each other to make this work.'' An older man who said he spent most of his life involved in the tourism industry said sky-high airfares were responsible for the decline.

"We won't allow competitive airlines, and everyone is price-conscious, I can tell you,'' the man said.

He noted that visitors unfamiliar with Bermuda's assets are not encouraged to visit the Island because of high airline prices.

"Repeat guests make up 50 percent of the industry, but there aren't any new people because they don't know the difference between Bermuda, Bahamas and Barbados.'' Mr. Fairbanks told The Royal Gazette that many of the viewpoint expressed reflected "traditional concerns about tourism'' that did not address "the real complexities of the problem''.

And he said everyone would blame the traditional problems rather than agreeing to attempt a different method.

"Those explanations aren't adequate. They're not open to doing things in a new way...it's not good science, what they're saying,'' he added.

The presentation was the second meeting in a series of four. The third and fourth presentations will be held on Thursday from 8.30 to 10 p.m. at the Little Theatre and 7.30 to 9 p.m. at the Bermuda Industrial Union headquarters on Union Street.