TRAVEL SLOW, BUT NOT FOR DISNEY WORLD AND VEGAS

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- Disney World bookings started falling off when the shooting started in the Persian Gulf.

"There was a lot of concern about terrorism at that time," said Barbara Rhein, of World Travel Center here. "Everybody was looking toward Tampa, Fla., and the Super Bowl."

Security was tight at Tampa Stadium. Fans stood in lines to pass through metal detectors, and photographers had to receive special clearance to pop flashes.

When the pro football showcase went off with no terrorism problems, the Disney phones started ringing again at Orlando, scarcely an hour away from Tampa, and they haven't quit.

Disney World, in mid-Florida and Las Vegas, has been surviving the double whammy an economic slump and wartime conditions in the Persian Gulf on the tourism industry.

Even attendance at Disneyland in California, the nation's number one travel destination has not waned.

"Vegas has to be the hottest spot going right now," says Judy Bullock, owner of Perry Travel Center here. "We have trouble finding bookings. Most tour companies are sold out for Vegas."

Brenda Davis, of Gulliver's Travel Agency, Inc., agrees. "The fares are reasonable, and we're seeing a lot of traffic to Vegas."

"Disney World is our most popular destination," said Mark Hill, of Destinations Unlimited. "But we are seeing some traffic Vegas."

Overall, however, travel industry officials are seeing signs of a slump in their business.

They say signs of the slump are easy to see. Once-crowded flights from Asia and Europe are now arriving with empty seats. Attendance at trade conventions has declined, and one fast-food chain canceled its convention in San Francisco. Some larger travel agents have been forced to lay off workers or shorten their hours to cut costs.

There are many explanations for the decline.

Some travelers are afraid of terrorism.

Others are uneasy about sightseeing while troops are fighting and dying in the Persian Gulf.

Many business and vacation travelers are pinching pennies until the recession ends, and are electing to stay closer to home.

"Luckily for the travel industry, the Persian Gulf conflict happened at the a slow time of the year," said Hill. "This is a very slow time overall. If this was happening in the middle of summer, I would say the ramifications would be much more significant."

Industry officials remain optimistic, however, and expect that tourism will rebound rapidly.

"Fighting in the Persian Gulf has apparently ended," said Hill. "With the peak summer travel months ahead, things could be looking up."

Overseas travel to the United States from Asia and Europe plunged 40 percent after the outbreak of fighting in the Persian Gulf on Jan. 17, according to a survey by the U.S. Commerce Department. Inside the United States, domestic travelers also stopped planning trips.

A lot of phones quit ringing when the fighting started, agree most area travel agencies.

"It was that fast," said Hill.

"Domestic travel got a boost in February when airlines cut fares to attract business," said Rhein. "Of course, the 50 percent cut in fares to England didn't help much in this area."

"We've had a lot of inquiries in the past couple of weeks," said Davis. "Some companies have discounted prices to Cancun and Jamaica; we're getting some reactions to these cuts. However, a lot of people are still waiting to see what is going to happen in the Mid East."

"We're getting a lot of requests about cruises," said Bullock. "People seem to feel that cruises are safe."

There is still some concern because of reports on terrorism, but there is a slow returning of confidence as people begin to feel that security is very tight.

"Security is as tight as I have every seen it," said Bullock. "Airport security is a lot tighter now."

Kentucky Lake, in Western Kentucky, is one of the area resorts which is benefiting from the "stay close" trend.

"We're receiving inquiries every day," said one visitor's bureau spokesman. "If the early interest is any indication, we're looking forward to a boom year here."

Meanwhile, the mood throughout much of the tourism industry remains apprehensive. Al Reese, vice president of the San Diego, Calif., Visitors and Convention Bureau, summed up the feelings of many industry officials: "We've never had the combination of war and recession here. It is the interplay of the two that makes it impossible to predict what will happen."

California could suffer "billions of dollars" in economic losses if the slump continues said Joe D'Alessandro, who monitors international travel for the state Office of Tourism.

Travel and tourism is one of the top three industries in California, producing a whopping $48.5 billion in expenditures and 727,000 jobs in 1987, state tourism officials said, based on the most recent statistics available.