TRAVEL: LOCAL AGENCIES NOTICE EFFECTS OF WAR, ECONOMY

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- Vacationers and business travelers nationwide appear to be avoiding trips abroad in light of the war in the Persian Gulf and an impending economic recession.

Some local travel agents also report sagging international and domestic flights.

Three Cape Girardeau travel agencies said most travelers seem to be waiting for the situation to stabilize in the Middle East before they book international flights.

"People are calling and checking on things, but they're putting off any decision until they see what happens," said Connie Copsy, a travel consultant for AAA Travel Agency here.

"I think this is the season where people who would be going to Europe are typically buying tickets, and that has definitely slowed down.

"I think this year will be a USA year," she added. "People will be going to domestic destinations."

Nationwide, vacation hot spots have reported motel reservations are down and cancellations are up. Gamblers reportedly are staying away from Las Vegas. Hawaii motels that normally have 90 percent of their rooms reserved this time of year are reporting only about 70 percent of the rooms are booked.

Travel agents, hotel and restaurant owners and others say they're not quite sure what is hitting them hardest: fears of terrorism and sadness over combat, or a shortage of money faced by people thrown out of work.

Because the economy turned sour and the war with Iraq began in winter, it was hard to judge the immediate impact on regions that get the bulk of their visitors in warm-weather months, analysts say.

In North Carolina, attendance is off at such attractions as the Wright Brothers National Monument on the Outer Banks. The Convention & Visitors Bureau in New York reports that Japanese tour groups are scrapping plans to visit the Big Apple.

The Persian Gulf War has stirred fears of terrorism, but many people also simply aren't in the mood for recreation because they're worried about relatives or friends at war, travel agency representatives report.

The extent of the damage also is unclear, according to industry groups.

"It's kind of difficult for us to say what's the exact percentage or the exact amount that business has been down," said Courtney MacInnis, spokeswoman for the American Society of Travel Agents. "It's kind of hard to go out to the traveler and say, `Why aren't you traveling? Is it fear or is it money?' It may be a combination."

But the most obvious casualty of the war fears has been overseas travel. Financially strapped Pan Am Inc. and Trans World Airlines Inc. both scrapped flights into the Middle East and parts of Europe in the days before U.S. troops began bombing Iraq.

Mark Hill, owner of Destinations Unlimited in Cape Girardeau, said most agencies have reported that travelers, particularly those seeking to go to Europe, are cautious.

"Generally, the vacation traveler doesn't start booking flights until April or May," Hill said. "Right now they're making plans, but I think a lot of them are just waiting to see what happens.

"I think as time goes on they'll get more confidence and begin to book more flights. It has improved already in the last week or so."

Hill also said he thought more and more vacation travelers are seeking domestic destinations in light of the war.

"I think they've basically transferred their destination from Europe this year to Hawaii and other areas they think would be safer," he said.

Hill said several local companies often send employees to Europe, but that many of those flights now "aren't very full at all."

Carolyn Kempf, a travel consultant at West Park Travel, said that while her agency is busy, most bookings are for domestic flights.

"I think the recession's affected the domestic travel as much as anything," she said. "But we've been real busy."

Kempf said that most international airlines have cut their flights to Europe 50 percent or more. She said she's heard that international flights with Trans World Airlines, which serves St. Louis' Lambert International Airport, are down 60 percent.

But while many vacationers seem to be opting for stateside trips this year, even domestic flights have been affected by the threat of terrorist activity.

Hill said the nation's larger airports with more international flights in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, are the most likely targets of terrorist-type attacks. But he said people locally also are concerned about terrorism at smaller airports like Lambert.

"I think even domestically, people are afraid to fly," Hill said.

But Kempf, Hill and Copsy all downplayed the threat of terrorism. They said airlines have taken measures to boost security at even small airports.

"I really don't think terrorism will happen because of the additional security," said Kempf. "I wouldn't think twice about flying now. It's a little more inconvenient, but I don't think there's a serious threat with the security measures they've taken."

Copsy said that there have been few terrorist incidents that can be directly tied to the Persian Gulf war.

"My feeling is, if we allow that man (Iraq President Saddam Hussein) to curtail our activities here, he's, in effect, holding us hostage, and I don't think we should allow that to happen," Copsy said.