Commission on Competitiveness committee as a way of generating revenue from visitors.

But it is not the only idea the Future Opportunities Committee is exploring.

Committee head Mr. John Collis disclosed yesterday that several other less controversial ways of boosting foreign currency earnings were also being looked into.

The ideas included aqua-culture, encouraging foreign students to attend local institutions, building a huge conference centre, and hosting major sports tournaments, he said.

Mr. Collis' disclosures came in the wake of a Caribbean tourism magazine reporting that the islands were becoming more receptive to gambling.

"Many Caribbean governments now recognise that casinos, as a tourist amenity, can provide much-needed revenue and additional employment without sacrificing the individual personality and character of the destination,'' an article in a recent issue of Caribbean Tourism Today said.

Mr. Collis said that after researching all the ideas mentioned, his committee would either make recommendations for or against them to the Commission.

However, his initial belief was that any one of the ideas could lead to "a major and stable supply of income'' for the Island.

Mr. Collis conceded the ideas being considered were not new, but pointed out they had not been fully pursued before.

"Government and the people simply did not pursue them in favour of pursuing that which did well before,'' he said. "But now we see a real need for diversity.

"We see the impact of over reliance on two industries. The decrease in world tourism has brought to the attention of all the danger of relying entirely on one industry. And clearly we are losing a major revenue source with the base closings and partial closings.'' Mr. Collis said the Committee's task was to look into all possible ways of raising revenue in the future. Government had not told it to rule out any ideas, he said.

He said the Committee was looking into forms of gambling, such as casinos and lotteries, because the ideas had been raised many times before as ways to generate revenue.

Also, he noted: "At a recent series of public forums put on by the Commission, clearly a lot of people thought gambling should be allowed. Many spoke for it.'' Another revenue-raising idea being seriously looked at is aqua-culture, which would be breeding fish or shellfish for export, he said.

The sale of education services to generate foreign currency was also being explored, he said. Foreign students could conceivably be encouraged to attend courses at the Bermuda College, the Bermuda Insurance Institute or the Bermuda Biological Station for Research.

The Committee was researching whether building a massive conference centre for trade shows and large conventions would boost tourism, he said.

And it was seeing if hosting major sports or games tournaments, such as golf and bridge, would be profitable, and whether Bermuda should be more accommodating to organisers since the spillover effect would be publicity for the Island.