FLOODS PUT DAMPER ON STATE'S TOURISM.

Byline: Janet Fulwood Scripps-McClatchy Western Service

California's $57 billion travel and tourism industry showed healthy gains in 1996, reflecting a stronger economy both nationally and statewide. But the state's third-largest employer (after health care and business services) will take a hit this year as a result of January flooding that closed Highway 50, shut Yosemite National Park and limited access to other popular north state destinations.

``We ended '96 on a high mark, but we're starting '97 on a low mark,'' Deputy Secretary for Tourism John Poimiroo told some 500 tourism professionals and community leaders attending the California Conference on Tourism held earlier this month in Sacramento.

Like the earthquakes, wildfires and mudslides that have contributed in past years to tarnishing the Golden State's image as a vacation destination, the January storms have triggered a falloff in ``intent to visit'' California that likely will persist into summer, Poimiroo said. ``We assume the impact will be great, particularly because of the closing of Yosemite.''

An estimated $343 million in economic damage has resulted from the storms, he added, including $178 million at Yosemite, which draws more than 4 million visitors a year.

To counter the damage, state tourism leaders are spreading the word, through trade shows and other marketing efforts, that most of California was unaffected by the flooding. They also are pushing for passage of an industry-wide referendum that would create a marketing program aimed at increasing the numbers of travelers and tourists to the state.

An estimated 50,000 qualifying businesses will vote in June on whether to assess themselves at the rate of $450 per $1 million in travel and tourism revenue. Only businesses that derive more than 8 percent of their gross revenue from travelers are eligible to participate.

If the referendum is approved, a public-private partnership between the state and the California travel industry will be established, with the state contributing $7.3 million annually and the industry at least $7.5 million. The assessments would more than double the amount California currently spends on tourism promotion. A 37-member board of tourism professionals, some of them elected by the industry, others appointed by the governor, would manage the newly established California Travel and Tourism Commission.

Gov. Pete Wilson, speaking during the conference's closing banquet, expressed his support for the program, which is similar to marketing orders created by the milk and beef industries.

``Try as we have to send a message from California's highest peaks and deepest valleys, the facts are that we have to try even harder ... because of the competition,'' he said. ``We have to find better and more sophisticated ways to market California.''

According to estimates compiled by Dean Runyan Associates and presented at the conference, total travel spending in California grew by 4.8 percent in 1996, to $57.8 billion, while payroll generated by that spending jumped 3.4 percent, to a record $12.2 billion. About 689,000 Californians were employed in travel and tourism in 1996, up 4.7 percent from 1995. The industry generated about $3.2 billion in state and local tax revenue.

While acknowledging the gains, Poimiroo noted that they were not enough to halt a six-year slide in national market share, a trend he called ``troubling'' and attributed in part to increased spending by other states and international destinations.

``Short-term growth cannot be applauded when we are losing shares relative to other states,'' he said, noting that the state's piece of the national tourism pie has dropped from 12.2 percent in 1989 to 10.5 percent last year.