Travel trade on decline

Mike Swanson

Some local businesses depending on Lagunans to travel outside

Southern California have noticed a sharp dip in sales since the war

in Iraq began last month.

While the Laguna Beach Visitors’ Bureau and local hotels from Best

Western to the Montage Resort reported no notable change attributable

to the war, Laguna businesses like Krill Tours and Travel and Best 4

Golf are among the local businesses trying to weather the slow times.

“If you talk to anyone in the travel business, you won’t hear very

many people sounding ‘up’ about their situation,” said Dorothy Krill,

co-owner of Krill Tours and Travel on South Coast Highway. “There

aren’t many phones ringing around here these days.”

Krill, who’s been in business in Laguna Beach since 1972, doesn’t

expect her company to go under because of the war, but wouldn’t count

anything out. She said most of the business they’ve received since

the war began has come because of family or business emergencies,

while the number of Lagunans traveling for pleasure is as low as she

can remember.

“People aren’t traveling unless they have to, and that doesn’t

help us, especially at this time of year.”

Chuck Kinder, president of Best 4 Golf and Golf Publishing

International, runs a business that centers upon booking golf tours

in Mexico. Since the war began, he said, new bookings have been on a

definite decline.

Upon returning Wednesday from a tourism conference in Acapulco

focusing on travel to Mexico, Kinder said the attendance was the

highest he’d ever seen, and the war in Iraq was by far the most

discussed topic.

“It’s obviously required that people in the tourism business had

to travel to get to the conference,” Kinder said, “so the travel

situation isn’t affecting everyone. People in the business are hoping

customers become less afraid to travel, especially within the U.S.,

Mexico and Canada, as the war becomes less new, or hopefully ends.”

Marilyn Gibbons of Old Newport Travel said this is a time that

people just don’t want to be away from home, and if they travel,

they’re traveling close to home.

“The travel business is shot to hell,” she said, “but we’ve been

through this before, and we’ll keep plugging away until it passes.”

Representatives for the Montage Resort and the Ritz Carlton,

high-end local resorts similar to those used by Best 4 Golf in

Mexico, said their business hadn’t slowed since the war began.

“We haven’t seen any effects thus far,” Montage Resort’s Director

of Public Relations Marguarite Clark said. “I can’t speculate as to

why, but we’re fortunate not to have any thus far.”

Best 4 Golf Director of Marketing Charles Montague said the state

department has released a map shading the areas most vulnerable to

terrorism, and Mexico was shaded entirely.

“I definitely think people at the top are being overreactive,”

Montague said, “and that affects people’s attitudes.”

On the positive side, Kinder said the business hasn’t been

receiving many cancellations, and he’s confident that Americans’ need

to travel will eventually push the industry’s sales, even if the war

drags on.

“Vacations are an important part of American heritage,” he said.

“As of today and last week, the war is new, but I don’t think this

will last.”