U.S. TOURISM BLUEPRINT UNVEILED.

Byline: Carol Bidwell Daily News Staff Writer

Despite the April 15 closing of the cash-short U.S. Travel and Tourism Administration, government and travel industry executives said Wednesday they are determined to keep U.S. tourism afloat until a permanent public-private tourism partnership can be formed next year.

The newly formed USA National Tourism Organization Inc. will operate until April 15, 1997, when a permanent agency can be set up, Greg Farmer, undersecretary of Commerce for Travel and Tourism, said at a news briefing.

The temporary agency will be supported by up to $500,000 from the industry-funded Travel Industry Association of America. Bills introduced in both the House and Senate specify that the permanent agency, when formed, will be funded by a combination of industry contributions and government funds.

Even though Congress refused to allot $12 million to run the USTTA for another year, industry representatives are confident they can convince legislators to divert some money now used to promote the export of American products to the promotion of America itself - especially since expanded tourism should increase taxes paid to the federal government. The tourism industry generated $58 billion in taxes in 1995 and international tourism to the U.S. has hovered around 47 million in recent years. But without the TTA, that figure is expected to drop to 45 million this year.

``If we can spend money to promote the export of chickens and other products, we can do this,'' Farmer said. ``We certainly feel that tourism is one of those exports . . . Nothing we're asking for is unrealistic. Nothing we're asking for is beyond what's done to support exports in other industries. We feel that Congress will be logical and spend appropriately.''

It is especially important this year to promote the U.S. as a tourism destination and to aid the thousands of foreign travelers expected to flood the South and other tourist spots July 19-Aug. 4 during the Olympics in Atlanta, said Sandra Fulton, national chairwoman of the Travel Industry Association of America.

``There's no greater time for us to put out the welcome mat,'' she said.

Both the temporary and anticipated permanent travel offices are outgrowths of last fall's first White House Conference on Travel and Tourism, where industry representatives met to hammer out recommendations to increase the nation's share of the world tourism dollar.

An implementation team of 39 travel executives, led by Fulton, has been working for six months on ways to carry out 44 of the conference's recommendations. Last week's press briefing outlined five major recommendations, involving the new tourism agency and Olympics-bound travelers, that the team considered the most crucial. Those recommendations, and the people who will spearhead the efforts, are:

International Tourism Promotion: William S. Norman, president of the Travel Industry Assocation of America, will oversee the temporary tourism organization and its tourism promotion efforts.

Public policy: The President's Council on Travel and Tourism, a public-private group, is being formed to advise the president, Congress and the tourism industry on how the U.S. should compete for travel dollars worldwide.

Safety: Jim Host, president of the National Tour Association, heads a national safety team working to set up a nationwide, toll-free, multilingual visitor information number to provide help to travelers in emergencies. The team will also devise a way to better educate foreign visitors on how to travel safely.

Customer service:Dick Knodt, president of the American Society of Travel Agents, chairs a group that will work with the Customs and Immigration and Naturalization Service to expand border inspectors' language skills and make foreign visitors feel more welcome.

Education: Ken Hine, president of the American Hotel & Motel Association, heads a group that will help develop a curriculum for students in kindergarten through college to encourage and train workers for the tourism industry.