A year ago, Mark Hill and the rest of the country watched numbly as images of the World Trade Center's destruction flickered on television. Two commercial planes full of travelers crashed into one tower and then the other.

"Like everybody else, at first all I thought about was all those people who had died," said Hill, who owns Destinations Unlimited in Cape Girardeau.

It wasn't until later the next day that Hill slowly began to consider how it all might affect his travel agency.

"They began shutting down flights and I knew we were going to be in trouble," Hill said.

He had no idea how bad it would eventually get.

When flights resumed almost a week later, his business was flooded with calls from people canceling their travel plans. With threats of further attacks, people weren't going anywhere near planes. His business is down 50 percent from last year.

The story is similar at other area travel agencies.

"The first three months were devastating," said Carolyn Kempf with Elite Travel. "People were scared. No one was thinking about going anywhere."

In the year since the terrorist attacks, Americans have gingerly returned to the skies, but the travel industry remains in the midst of an 18-month funk that began before the events of Sept. 11 but was then exacerbated by them.

The long-term damage has been quite evident in recent weeks as U.S. Airlines sought bankruptcy protection. American Airlines announced restructuring and cutbacks and United Airlines warned of a possible bankruptcy filing this fall unless its situation improves.

The nine major air carriers lost $3.8 billion alone in the first half of 2002, mostly from the lack of travelers.

The number of passengers on domestic and international flights, which had plummeted by a third last September, was down 11.2 percent this year through July, according to the Airline Transportation Association, an industry group. The association predicts business on a nationwide scale will remain flat this year and rebound only to 2000 levels by next year.

But the problem is not all from Sept. 11. The economic downturn has left people with less money for travel, travel agents said.

"People aren't scared to travel anymore," Hill said. "They just can't because of a lack of cash flow."

Despite all of the problems, with the fear of Sept. 11 subsiding and an understanding that the economy can't stay in a slump forever, the agents said they are optimistic.

Some larger travel agencies, like Cape Girardeau AAA, even say they haven't been hurt badly. In fact, that office expects to have a better year than it did last year, thanks to an emphasis on cruises and not airline tickets.

"It's been amazingly upbeat," said Deborah Mileur, who manages the Cape Girardeau AAA. "The only effect we're seeing is that people are waiting later and later to make the booking."

Kempf, who runs Elite Travel, said things are also picking up for her agency.

"As consumer confidence for safety rebounds, so are sales," she said. "To be honest, right now I'm not overly concerned. I don't know what the future holds, but I think we're going to be all right."

smoyers@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 137