SPENDERS KEEP L.A. SOLVENT CONSUMERS STAYED HOME AFTER SEPT. 11, BUT NOT FOR TOO LONG SEPT. 11 DERAILED CONSUMERS BRIEFLY.

Byline: Barbara Correa Staff Writer

One year after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks transformed Southern California's malls, theme parks and other public places into virtual ghost towns, consumers have come out of hiding - in fact, they're spending more than ever in some areas.

Mall sales dipped in the weeks after the attacks, but posted a decent holiday recovery and jumped in January. Attendance at California theme parks, hit particularly hard by 9-11, came roaring back early this year, and California eating and drinking establishments are back up above pre-attack levels. Even attendance at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, down 50 percent the week after 9-11, ended last year down just 4 percent.

``Mall traffic came back relatively quickly after 9-11,'' said Richard Giss, a partner in the retail services group at consulting firm Deloitte & Touche's Los Angeles office.

``There was initial fear - people were scared, but also it just didn't feel right to go shopping. The malls were deserted the week after. But within a month, it had pretty much recovered.'' Giss said retail sales should end the year slightly above 2001.

Same-store sales grew an anemic 0.9 percent last September, reflecting the impact of 9-11, then edged up in December with 2.2 percent growth, according to the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi Retail Chain Store Sales Index. In January, sales grew 5.1 percent, remaining steady through the first quarter.

With carmakers slashing financing costs and President George W. Bush urging patriotic purchasing to keep the economy rolling, national consumer spending rose in the month after 9-11. And it has continued to climb steadily this year, posting a 1 percent increase in July, the latest data available, according to the U.S. Commerce Department.

California home sales, driven by record-low interest rates, continued at a steady clip, though July's 7.5 percent sales increase from a year ago reflects a slight cooling from previous months.

Southern California consumers have certainly been doing their part for the war effort.

After a brief hiatus, locals have returned to restaurants and bars. Total employment at eating and drinking establishments in Los Angeles County fell from 247,000 last September to 245,000 by December. As of July, that figure was back up to 249,000, said Bill Freed, a labor market consultant in Long Beach.

At Westfield Shoppingtown West Covina, a period of uncertainty hung over the mall for a month or two after 9-11, followed by ``tentative'' holiday sales, said Alan Osadchey, general manager. But since then, the crowds have returned, and shopping traffic has been pretty steady, he said.

Attendance at Staples Center, home of the Los Angeles Lakers and Kings, was basically unaffected, said Brenda Tinnen, an events and guest services executive. A Madonna show planned for 9-11 was pushed back and a preseason Kings game was rescheduled because two Kings scouts had been on the second plane that crashed into the World Trade Center, she said. In the days after the attacks, Staples beefed up security to calm fears.

Jim Schmaltz, 43, an editor at Flex Magazine in Woodland Hills, said he didn't have any qualms about going to a Kings hockey game at Staples last winter.

``You don't change your behavior out of fear,'' said Schmaltz. ``It didn't seem like people had concerns. Then again, in L.A., people aren't really on Earth anyway - they're not really tuned in to what's happening around them.''

The attacks also did nothing to deter crowds from flocking to the movies.

Contrary to fears among Hollywood producers and film exhibitors, 9-11 has had no lasting negative impact on box-office receipts, which hit record levels this summer. In fact, box-office profits spiked the weekend after the attacks, as moviegoers seeking an escape flooded theaters, said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office-tracking firm Exhibitor Relations Co. And they didn't just go for light comedies.

``There was a lot of talk that intense films or R-rated, violent fare would have a rough time. But the weekend of Sept. 28, 'Don't Say a Word,' a thriller with kidnapping and gunplay, was the No. 1 film for that weekend. The weekend after, 'Training Day' was the top grosser,'' said Dergarabedian. ``It wasn't all sweetness and light post-9-11.''

While most people have returned to a degree of normalcy, the attacks are still very much on consumers' minds.

``I've made an effort to have more water and extra food around in case of emergency,'' said Joyce Lewis, an Herbalife distributor in San Bernardino. ``I'm not going to be out much on Sept. 11.'' At the same time, Lewis said she still goes to the Inland Center Mall as much as ever with no concerns.

To be sure, there are perceived safety differences in going to the local multiplex or the mall, or a destination like a theme park or the airport, consumers said.

Donna Lichtenfeld, 52, a Westlake Village homemaker, said she told her 10-year-old daughter that she could only go on a summer kids group excursion to California Adventure if mom was allowed to tag along. ``It worked out because she decided she didn't want to go,'' said Lichtenfeld.

Southern California amusement parks, along with the larger hotel and tourism sector, were among the hardest hit by 9-11, suffering a 26 percent drop in total visits to the Los Angeles area from September through the end of the year, compared with the first eight months of 2001.

Disneyland and Universal Studios were reportedly featured in videotapes confiscated from three men arrested in Spain in July who were suspected of having ties to the al-Qaida terrorist network, further discouraging attendance.

Ten Southern California attractions, including Universal Studios Hollywood, Six Flags California and the Los Angeles Zoo, reported that attendance was off 11 percent in September from the previous year, then plunged more than 20 percent in October and stayed at that level for the rest of 2001, said David Sheatsley, vice president of research at the Los Angeles Convention & Visitors Bureau. The bureau tracked theme-park attendance until several attractions decided to stop the practice in the beginning of this year.

In January, the last month for which attendance figures were released, the parks reported a nearly 25 percent spike in attendance, the result of aggressive ticket promotions locally and nice weather.

With Los Angeles hotel occupancy down 23 percent after the attacks, local theme parks turned to their own back yard to bring traffic back. Universal Studios Hollywood promoted discounts and new attractions. ``We were impacted by the challenges of last fall,'' said Eliot Sekuler, a park spokesman. ``We're having a good year thanks to California residents who've turned out to enjoy new attractions we introduced this year: the Special Effects stages and Spider-Man Rocks!''

At the time of the attacks, Six Flags California's Magic Mountain was still recovering from negative publicity resulting from the death of a Fontana woman who suffered a ruptured brain aneurysm aboard the Goliath roller coaster in June 2001. That ride has since reopened, and the park has launched two other rides, X and Deja Vu, to attract visitors.

Disney's California Adventure, which was already suffering weak attendance since its February 2001 debut when 9-11 struck, recently sent ABC network stars Dylan McDermott, Drew Carey and a host of others to the park to help boost weak attendance.

One activity consumers are still holding back on because of 9-11 is air travel.

Fear of terrorism and reports of repeated security delays at LAX have kept most travelers in their armchairs since 9-11, though travel agents report interest in exotic destinations is beginning to bounce back.

``I'm getting bookings for January to Mexico, the Caribbean and Hawaii,'' said Ed Nell, owner of Carlson Wagonlit-Pernell Travel in Los Angeles, as opposed to the last-minute reservation trend that directly followed 9-11. He said he is also seeing pent-up demand from Europhiles who were too afraid to fly this summer.

The 9-11 air-travel scare in turn fueled a steep rise in driving trips since the attacks as vacationers opted to take summer trips to local destinations, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California. Toni Borisov, a travel-agency manager at the Auto Club, said since 9-11 she's seen a sharp rise in demand for Trip Tiks - personalized maps that customize a driving itinerary and highlight local points of interest.

At Burbank Airport, total passenger traffic dropped from 415,270 last July to 390,500 this July, the most-recent month tracked, but that was up from 251,470 last September after the attacks. Passenger traffic at Ontario International Airport fell from 647,159 in July 2001 to 581,212 this July, and was down to 382,334 last September.

The attacks didn't cause overall passenger traffic declines at Long Beach Airport because the airport's largest tenant, JetBlue Airways, was adding flights immediately after Sept. 11 as part of a previously planned expansion.

But at Los Angeles International Airport, total passenger traffic was still down 15.5 percent in July from July 2001. After plunging about one-third right after the attacks, traffic has steadily risen since then, ending the first half of 2002 down about 17 percent.

The numbers reflect more than just fear of flying. They also show that airlines are cutting flights to save money, said Jack Kyser, chief economist at the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. United Airlines, LAX's largest carrier, is among the worst off financially, he said.

Some people are flying without any worries. Cindy Johnson and her husband will jet to Jamaica this winter to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. ``I have no problem with it,'' said Johnson, owner of a machine shop in Monrovia. ``If something's going to happen, it's going to happen.''

Johnson says her daughter went to Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm 35 times this summer with no concerns. And on the day marking the one-year anniversary of 9-11, Johnson will travel to Oceanside to visit her mother. ``We'll go out somewhere,'' said Johnson. ``I'm certainly not going to hide, that's for darn sure.''

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(1 -- 2 -- color) Skycap Americo Berlanga, above, works at a Los Angeles International Airport terminal that doesn't yet allow curbside check-in, so business is slow for him. But at stores like Michael's in Tarzana, below, where American flags are displayed, consumers are eager to buy.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer

Evan Yee/Staff Photographer