STRICTLY BUSINESS: TRAVELERS ARE HITTING THE ROADS

Pack the kids' belongings. Stop the daily newspapers. Ask the neighbor to retrieve the mail. Board the pets. Goodbye, routine ... hello, vacation.

It's summer, and leisure travelers are hitting the road.

A growing economy, healthy consumer confidence and the lapse of the 10 percent federal excise tax on air travel have resulted in increased travel. Some travel officials see no immediate letup.

"As the economy goes, the travel trends go," said Mark Hill of Carlson Wagonlite Travel-Destinations Unlimited in Cape Girardeau. "If people are comfortable with the economy, they are comfortable with spending money for vacations."

Travel is pushing record levels with popular flights booked solid and hotel rooms scarce.

The Olympics in Atlanta and political conventions in Chicago and San Diego help boost travel, but this year, family-oriented spots like the Grand Canyon, Disney World, Branson, cruises and exotic destinations are busy as well.

All of this was unexpected. Travel analysts expected moderate growth in the travel industry but have been pleasantly surprised with all the activity.

"A lot of the profit levels are down," said Carolyn Kempf, of Elite Travel in Cape Girardeau. "That's one of the reasons more people are traveling."

Elite, like other travel agencies, are planning a lot of family activities.

"We do a lot of families in the summer," said Kempf. "The cruise industry has been attractive."

Kempf explained that the cruise market has been flooded over the past couple of years. The increases in cruise ships have resulted in decreased prices.

Families are also taking part in more escorted motorcoach tours, said Norman Hahn, president of Panorama Tours in Cape Girardeau.

Tours popular with families

"Tours have become popular with families," said Hahn. "We do a lot of hands-on things on tours -- like chuck-wagon dinners and wilderness jeep excursions."

Tours range from three-day weekend jaunts to 18-day trips to points west, Canada and the East.

Families are driving the urge to travel, industry analysts say. Though travelers are spending about the same amount of money as last summer, they are taking longer trips with more people. Quite simply, parents are bringing the children along.

Fifty-four percent of leisure travelers -- up from 47 percent last year -- are packing up the kids, according to the Travel Industry Association of America, a trade group based in Washington.

Travel during the recent Fourth of July holiday was the busiest in eight years, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA). As many as 36 million Americans packed up for a trip during the weekend, with driving vacations accounting for the lion's share of travel.

Although gasoline prices are up, the use from a year ago amounts to only 30 cents more for every 100 miles traveled, said the AAA.

Popular destinations

The most popular destinations this summer include such perennial family-oriented spots as Orlando, Fla., home of Disney World; Grand Canyon; Las Vegas; and Southern California. Tennessee, highlighted by Nashville and Opryland, Gatlinburg and Dolly World and the Smoky Mountains, and Washington state in the Pacific Northwest, have replaced Alaska and Washington, D.C. in the Travel Industry Association's list of the 10 most popular destination states.

Most local travel officials agree Disney World is still the No. 1 destination spot for vacationers.

Branson is big for short trips.

Hahn said a number of three-day bus tour bookings are for the Branson area.

Branson, a small community with 3,700 population, is one of the top five tourist destinations in the nation, according to the AAA. This places the Southwest Missouri Ozark area in some big company -- Orlando and Disney World; Yellowstone National Park, Los Angeles and Washington.

Branson, which has been home to the Silver Dollar City theme park for a number of years, has now become home to an ever-growing country music complex, featuring entertainers with their own Branson theaters or regular guests.

Branson a big draw

Branson drew 4.1 million visitors in 1990, and the numbers have grown steadily in the following years -- to 5.4 million in 1992, 5.6 million in 1993 and 5.8 million in 1994.

As for exotic locales, travel agencies are selling packages to Europe, Mexico and more cruises this year, many of them for the entire family.

Cancun in Mexico and Disney World have been big destinations for people from this area, noted Kempf.

Airlines expect to be fuller than ever this month and next, surpassing the summer of 1992, when a half-price fare war drew vacationers to the skies. This year, repeal of the tax on air travel has brought some lower ticket prices, although airlines didn't pass along the entire 10 percent to consumers, according to the Air Transport Association.

Passenger traffic climbed 7.9 percent in May over May 1995 and 7 percent in June. The industry expected to see load factors hit record numbers through August. The percent of seats filled is expected to hit 75 percent in August, surpassing the previous record of 71.2 percent recorded last August.

Flights to Orlando and Atlanta are already packed, and some airlines have added more flights and bigger planes to these two destinations, along with those to California and Hawaii.

Hotel occupancy at high level

Hotel occupancy is expected to be at its highest since 1987. It is expected to hover around 75 percent, which means some hotels will be sold out during popular nights, weekends and holidays. With occupancy rates higher, some popular cities will be raising rates 6 to 7 percent.

The Dow Jones tracking index, which tracks hotel rates in 20 major cities, reveals the current averages: $99 at Orlando, $114 at St. Louis, $106 at New Orleans, $154 at Washington and $190 in New York. West Coast travelers can expect to spend an average of $162 in Los Angeles and $167 in San Francisco.

Some motel chains, however, have frequent-stay programs. Drury Inns Inc., which has more than 75 motels and hotels in a dozen states, offers a free night after 10 stays, and the Small Luxury Hotel Chain, which includes the Mark in New York and Argyle in Los Angeles, offers a free night after eight stays.