EDITORIAL : THE FRIENDLY VALLEY VISITORS SAVE ON LODGING COSTS, AND SPEND MORE FOR MEALS AND SHOPPING.

TOURISM produces hundreds of millions of dollars of income for the San Fernando Valley each year, according to figures from the Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau.

And, guess where a majority of the visitors stay?

In private homes, that's where, according to a report in the Valley Business Journal (the official publication of the Valley Industry and Commerce Association, the United Chambers of Commerce and the Valley Economic Development Center).

Although Valley hotel and motel proprietors surely would like to increase their occupancy levels by providing lodging for more of the visitors, the figures in the current issue of the business publication clearly show that Valley visitors are far more likely to stay in private homes than hotels.

What's more, a lopsided majority of visitors come to the Valley for leisure travel, not business.

This probably comes as no surprise to many people who call the Valley home. After all, one aspect of living in Southern California, it seems, is playing host to friends and family from elsewhere who would like nothing better than spending some pleasant days in the mild climate of exciting, normally sunny L.A.

And the friendly people of the Valley are certainly an important part of that hospitable ambience. Just ask the millions of house guests, both foreign and domestic, who spend time each year in guest bedrooms and on living room couches in the Valley.