HOLLYWOOD: TOURISM, RETAIL SHOPS FEEL ANXIETY'S PINCH.

Byline: Greg Hernandez Staff Writer

HOLLYWOOD - In the weeks just before its highly awaited revival, Hollywood Boulevard has become a boulevard of broken dreams, with visitors scarce since last month's terrorist attacks.

Tour buses are often more than half-empty, hotels and souvenir shops have seen business slump so badly that they are letting some of their workers go, and tickets to popular television shows usually snapped up by tourists can't be given away.

``The only time I've seen this is when we had the riots in '92 and when we had the (Northridge) Earthquake in '94,'' said Fred Schwartz, who has run Casablanca Tours for 21 years. ``It's terrible with all of this baloney going on.''

Schwartz has seen business on his charter and tour buses drop by 50 percent since Sept. 11, the day of attacks in New York City and Washington. The continuing world unrest has resulted in a prolonged slump in businesses for the bus lines that give tourists a glimpse of movie stars' homes and other Hollywood landmarks.

``After the World Trade Center got hit, business went way down,'' said David Lay, a driver with V.I.P. Tours. ``Then after the strikes back, people still didn't want to come. Maybe next year.''

Mo Kahn, owner and operator of Attraction Tours, said many of the concierges and other hotel employees who recommended his services have lost their jobs so there is no one to steer business his way.

``It needs to pick up by Christmas or we will be closed out,'' Kahn said. The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce said Monday that it is hopeful about the November opening of the highly anticipated $615 million TrizecHahn Kodak Theater project at Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue.

``We are anticipating that it is going to give us a boost ahead of some of the other areas,'' said Leron Gubler, the chamber's president and chief executive officer.

Gubler said tourism in Los Angeles is down an average of 25 percent to 30 percent citywide, but said the situation is worse in Hollywood because the area is so dependent upon tourists. He said the chamber is working with the city's convention bureau to contribute to a campaign targeting the one-day drive to market L.A.

``It's a matter of concern, and we are doing what we can to see if we can generate additional traffic on the boulevard,'' Gubler said. ``Tour bus operators in particular are the most impacted because they are dependent upon walk-by traffic opportunities.''

The cluster of souvenir shops along the boulevard that heavily rely on business from tourists are also suffering badly. Batia Zahavi, owner of Hollywood Souvenirs since 1986, said she is now worried about paying the rent on her shop, across the street from the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. She has already had to lay off more than half her 14 employees.

``It's a scary time,'' she said. ``The problem is, we don't know how long this will last.''

Giving away free tickets to television show tapings, another long-running tradition on Hollywood Boulevard, has been mutually beneficial: It gives tourists the opportunity to see shows for free, and producers fill the seats. But for the past five weeks, even some of television's most popular shows can't find a full audience.

Jarrett Kincaide, an employee of Audience Associates, said even an A- list star like Tom Cruise, who appeared on last week's ``Tonight Show with Jay Leno,'' was not an easy sell.

``You could have the biggest celebrity in the world and people are still afraid,'' Kincaide said. ``They used to have a long line in Burbank for tickets, but last week, they needed 120 seats filled, and they only have 163 seats. Today, I've got 50 open seats, and Heather Locklear is going to be on.''

An NBC spokeswoman attributed the lack of demand for tickets to see Leno and his guests to the season and said the show is experiencing a normal drop-off after summer's end.

``There are also fewer VIP tickets being used, and therefore more tickets are available for the general public,'' she said.

But Douglas White, an aspiring actor who works part-time for an audience recruitment company, said anxiety is so high that ``even `Frasier' is hard to fill.''

``People seem afraid to see shows, and some have said they are afraid the building is going to blow up,'' he said. ``But the show must go on.''

A spokesman for Warner Bros. said its sitcoms are playing to a full house, even if some in the audience are paid employees.

``We're not having a problem getting audiences,'' he said. ``We're using a combination of employees and the public. They're all done after hours, so it's no problem for their work schedules.'' Several foreign tourists who were in the area Monday did seem determined to sightsee and appeared to be having a good time as they roamed the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

``We've never been here, and this would be one of the few chances we would get,'' said Craig Howe, on vacation from Melbourne, Australia, with his wife.

``We're having a wonderful time but, yes, I'd be a bit more nervous than usual if I heard a loud bang or anything,'' said his wife, Hailee Howe.

Lucy Bird, visiting from England, seemed oblivious to any international stress as she placed her hands inside the cement imprint of Meryl Streep's in front of Grauman's Chinese Theater.

``We've already been to New York and to Washington, D.C., on this trip, so we were quite ready for Los Angeles,'' said Bird, who had to endure a one-hour delay on the tarmac at LAX on Sunday night because of a bomb scare.

Staff Writer Brent Hopkins contributed to this report.

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

(color) The sightseeing business has slowed in Hollywood. Jarrett Kincaide, right, has a harder time giving away free tickets.

Phil McCarten/Staff Photographer