SUMMER VACATION SEASON IN FULL SWING: TRAVEL INDUSTRY BACK

Mickey's mouse ears should perk up at the news despite a slowdown in travel, Florida's Disney World is still the big cheese when it comes to family vacation choices.

Close behind Disney are other areas in the state of Florida, and Las Vegas, Nev., with its glamour, glitter and gambling, as travelers, relieved over the outcome of the Persian Gulf War and more optimism about the economy, make summer of 1991 leisure plans.

If requests for information are any indication, the travel industry is rebounding.

As the summer vacation season gets into full swing, requests for travel information are up sharply, according to Cape Girardeau travel agencies.

Nationally, U.S. residents are expected to take about the same number of trips as last summer, according to the U.S. Travel Data Center. But, more people have been traveling by automobile and staying closer to home.

In Missouri, the Division of Tourism had responded to more than 132,000 requests for vacation information through the end of May, compared to the 115,986 requests last year.

The biggest jump in inquiries for Missouri were reported by the Table Rock Lake/Kimberling City Area, where inquiries are up more than 300 percent in 1990. Big increases have also been reported from the Branson area, where a variety of attractions, including notable country-music star performers and Silver Dollar City, attract visitors.

Increases were also recorded in the Cape Girardeau area, according to the Convention & Visitors Bureau. Through the end of May, the bureau had responded to more than 1,350 requests, compared to 1,870 for the entire year in 1990.

Since April, travelers have been inquiring about longer distance destinations, say travel agency spokesmen.

"Things have kind of taken off again, since April," says Mark Hill, of Destinations. "It almost back to the levels we expected domestically. International travel is still down some, though."

Jane Harte, manager of AAA Travel here, says travel began a welcome acceleration after the Desert Storm operation, and has been increasing since. "We've been seeing a steady increase since April," she said.

"Things are perking up some, but not as rapidly as expected," said Anne Swanson, manager of Gulliver's Travels. "But that mirrors the general state of the economy. It hasn't perked up quite as soon as expected."

"People are beginning to make plans again," said Elizabeth Seesing of West Park Mall agency. "For a while, they were unclear of what was going to happen in the Persian Gulf and the economy."

Domestically, most agencies agree that Las Vegas and Florida Disney World in particularly are the hot spots, with Hawaii receiving a lot of activity as well.

Australia and Europe are the focus for international travel, along with some closer spots, like Cancum, Cozumel an island off Cancum and Jamaica.

"Cruises are hot now," said Hill. "They're filling up, but there are still some good values for the dollar there, especially considering that cruise packages include meals."

Hill added that Alaska is predictably popular, but that "no bargains are available there."

"A lot of people held off vacation bookings earlier this year," said Harte. "Now, they're looking for places to go. Surprisingly, we're still finding availability for most of those late bookings."

Swanson said travelers making reservations in June snared some good air fares.

"We had great deals until June 30," she said. "We were doing a brisk business, but most fare specials ended in June. Now, people are holding off again to see if some other major specials come along."

Swanson said she doesn't expect any more hot specials before the Labor Day Holiday, and maybe not then.

"But you never know about the airlines," she added. "They may reduce prices at any time."

"There are still some bargains out there," said Seesing. "Vegas always has good packages. A lot of charters go to Vegas, especially from the St. Louis area. And you can always get lower rates on charters."

She added that Disney World is also offering some discount bookings.

"And you can save on hotel rates in Hawaii," she said. "I was there recently, and the hotels were running at about 40 to 50 percent occupancy, instead of the usual 80 to 90 percent this time of year. They're running some attractive specials."

Travel agencies say business travel has also slowed due to the economy, and earlier, the unsure war atmosphere in the Persian Gulf.

A decrease was also noted in travelers into the U.S.

"Travelers from other nations pay a lot of bills in our country," said a spokesman from the U.S. Travel Data Center. "Global traffic provided more than $51 billion into the U.S. economy in 1990."

The inbound market to the U.S. showed 40 million trips to U.S. shores by international travelers last year, who spent more than $51 billion. That, by the way, was $3.2 billion more than Americans spent traveling abroad, providing the U.S. with a surplus that helps the balance of payments.