Soaring Oil Prices Could Curb Travel From Asia : Tourism: Experts say higher fuel costs affect all aspects of the industry. It may mean the end of the surging tide of Pacific Rim visitors to the U.S.

Soaring oil prices resulting from the Middle East crisis may eventually put a lid on the booming U.S. tourist trade from Pacific Rim countries, travel industry and government experts said Wednesday.

“There is no ducking the reality of the impact higher energy costs will have on the global tourism industry,” said Linda M. Mysliwy, assistant secretary for tourism marketing at the U.S. Commerce Department.

“Higher fuel costs affect every aspect of the travel business--from operating tour buses to running hotels,” said Mysliwy, who spoke Wednesday at the start of a three-day conference on Pacific Rim tourism sponsored by Vusamart, a Jacksonville, Fla., travel-related service organization that promotes foreign travel to the United States.

California is still the top U.S. destination for foreign visitors, and Japan accounts for a majority of all tourist dollars spent in the state, said Ron Erdmann, a Commerce Department analyst.

Fuel prices soared after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait on Aug. 2 and have remained high as U.S. and allied forces continued their buildup of troops in the Persian Gulf region.

The higher fuel costs come at a time when U.S. airlines are reporting a surge in revenue from inbound Asian tourists. United Airlines, the largest U.S. carrier in the Pacific, saw a 33% increase in inbound Asian traffic over the last year, said William C. Speicher, a senior vice president of United Airlines.

So far, Speicher said, higher fuel costs have not significantly affected the number of Pacific Rim travelers coming to the United States.

But that could change, travel experts warned, if oil prices continue to rise or the Middle East crisis spawns terrorism that would discourage people from traveling to high-risk destinations.

“Asian tourists are much more adventuresome. They’re not easily scared off by high costs and moderate terrorist threats,” said W. Craig Parsons, assistant vice president of international sales for Hyatt Hotel Corp. “But if the threats become real, we may lose some of that business.” He said the hotel chain’s business from Asian tourists has been rising 30% annually for several years.

Richard Valerio, vice chairman of Vusamart, said U.S. airlines, hotels and other tourist-related businesses have resisted passing on the cost of higher fuel prices to customers because of intense competition within the industry.

For now, Asia’s travel industry experts said, a weak U.S. dollar helps make travel in the United States more affordable for Asian visitors. The United States is still considered a travel bargain for Japanese, South Korean and Taiwanese visitors compared to Canada or Europe, they said.

“Travel to the U.S. has become more affordable to many Koreans,” said Chang Teuk-Sung, executive vice president of Global Tours Ltd., a large South Korean tour company. “Young Korean workers want more vacation instead of more money.”

As management policies change in Japan and other Asian countries, employers have encouraged workers to take more vacation time, Chang said. But he noted that if fuel costs continue to soar, Korean travelers may seek closer and cheaper destinations in Southeast Asia.

“One consolation for our industry is that the hike in fuel costs came towards the end of the 1990 travel season,” said George Wang, president of Taiwan’s Dragon Van Lines Ltd.

PACIFIC RIM VISITORS

The U.S. tourism industry has benefited from an influx of visitors from Pacific Rim countries. But higher fuel costs, spurred by Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait, could result in higher travel costs and hurt U.S. tourism this year.

Visitors to U.S. * Estimated (1990 estimate, Expenditures Country in thousands) (in millions) Japan 3,400 $7,600 Taiwan 253 430 South Korea 184 310 Hong Kong 154 270 Singapore 50 80

*Does not include transportation costs to and from the United States

Source: U.S. Department of Commerce