RIO REALITY: The conference will bring world...

RIO REALITY: The conference will bring world attention to the coastal Brazilian carnival city. But some local travel agents don’t expect vacation interest in Rio de Janeiro to increase. For one thing, those agents won’t recommend it. . . . “The beaches are seedy by day and dangerous at night,” says one local American Express agent. “It’s big and dirty; you don’t dare drink the water, and the smell of ethanol, which they burn in their cars, is everywhere.” Says an agent for All-Travel Service in Anaheim: “I won’t go back; someone will steal your purse and jewelry.”