Study: Tourism drop due to 9-11, economy

Will Lester

Friday, Oct. 18, 2002 | 9:57 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- The depressed economy and the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks have contributed to a serious decline in travel and tourism in major American cities over the last two years, says a new study.

The study released Thursday said the top 100 metropolitan areas in the country lost 536,000 jobs and $22.6 billion since the end of 2000, about half of it attributed to the fallout from the terrorist attacks and public fear about terrorism.

Tourism job losses have been especially heavy in Phoenix, San Diego, Houston and Orlando, Fla., said the study conducted by the economic research firm DRI-WEFA for the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the Travel Business Roundtable and the International Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus.

In New York, where terrorists attacked the World Trade Center, tourism declined an estimated 17 percent from the $17.6 billion it brought to the metro area during 2000. In Washington, which saw the Pentagon attacked, tourism declined about 11.3 percent from the $10.2 billion it brought in during 2000.

"Tourism is not a nameless, faceless industry," said Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, chairwoman of a task force on travel and tourism for the U.S. Conference of Mayors. "If people make fewer trips to a city, the chances are that fewer people are working in hotels, fewer families are being employed in the industry."

Franklin said the federal government should promote tourism and travel to help cities recover from the downturn in the economy.

The mayors want President Bush to create a presidential advisory council on travel and tourism and for Congress to enact tax credits that help unskilled and disadvantaged workers receive job training for the travel and tourism industries.

The study noted that tourism was a $263 billion industry in the leading 100 metropolitan areas in 2000, providing 3.9 million jobs.

Tourism is crucial to the health of communities across the country, said Michael Gehrisch, president and chief executive of the International Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus. The mayors group said international travel to cities is not likely to recover soon without aggressive efforts by private business and the government.