They Come, They See, We Conquer?

My friend Carol deals in silver linings.

Take the Northridge earthquake. Most of us would have just as well done without it. Carol, however, notes that the quake helped push hotel occupancy rates up, because both displaced residents and disaster relief people needed a place to stay.

Or consider the weakened state of the U.S. currency, so battered that you’d expect Washington to sport a shiner. Most Americans think of this as discouraging news. We like strong, macho dollars. Carol, however, points out that due to advantageous exchange rates, Japanese and German tourists are flocking to America. “And the Japanese visitors are the most popular in the world,” she adds, “because they spend the most money.”

We were standing in the lobby of the Sheraton Universal. As if on cue, about 20 Japanese tourists walked by, heading for a tour bus.

Carol smiled. “It’s Golden Week.”

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Carol’s card identifies her as Interim Director, Media Relations for the Los Angeles Convention & Visitors Bureau. In other words, she does PR for L.A. But I had come to Universal City to meet Greg Farmer, the undersecretary of commerce for travel and tourism. He does PR for the USA--or at least its tourist industry.

This being National Tourism Week, Farmer had stopped by the Sheraton Universal Monday to participate in a publicity stunt. He “worked” as a desk clerk, posing for photos with hotel staff and guests.

Before joining the Clinton Administration, Farmer, 45, was Florida’s commerce secretary, handled government relations in the private sector and worked on Capitol Hill for various politicians. All of which may explain why he projects the friendly, polished, competent demeanor one hopes to find in hotel clerks.

This week, Farmer’s grand tour will include stints as a tour leader at the Great Plains Zoo in South Dakota, a kitchen helper at New York’s Tavern on the Green, a Delta Airlines gate agent in Atlanta and a car rental return agent at Avis in Austin. The media kit explains that Farmer’s aim “is to highlight the theme of National Tourism Week--’Tourism, It’s Working.’ ”

We talked a bit about the evolving national economy, from agriculture to industrial to “service.” Travel and tourism, he told me, was the nation’s second-largest employer, ahead of retail and trailing only health care. “We’ll be No. 1 by the year 2000,” he added.

A mention of minimum-wage jobs brought a swift response from Farmer. Wages in the tourism industry, he said, rose 52.8% from 1983 to 1993, while wages in manufacturing and agriculture remained flat.

Now, tourism is very competitive. And though the dollar is hurting, he said, it behooves us to take advantage of the situation. Last year, he said, foreign visitors spent $22.2 billion more here than Americans spent abroad, decreasing the trade deficit. Economists, Farmer said, would call that “fresh money.”

America must be bullish on tourism. According to the media kit:

“Everywhere you look, tourism is working. It’s working for the American economy. It’s working to reduce the trade deficit. But most importantly, tourism is working because it’s putting Americans to work. . . .

“And that’s important. Because despite the strong economy, American jobs continue to disappear, especially from the declining industries like mining and agriculture. Tourism is creating jobs to fill those voids. . . .

“In the future, tourism will continue to be one of the most powerful tools to build the American economy. Tourism . . . it’s working not only for today, but building momentum for tomorrow.”

All of which may well be true, although the list of “declining industries” could be lengthened a bit.

Is it just me, or does it all sound like more silver linings?

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Golden Week, Carol explained, is a Japanese holiday that embraces the observance of Emperor Hirohito’s birthday and an occasion called Boys’ Day. (There is, she assures me, a Girls’ Day as well.) Many Japanese businesses shut down, so travel is popular. It just so happened that Golden Week coincided with our National Tourist Week.

America is a bargain on the world tourism market. Japanese visitors often find that they can even buy Japanese-made goods cheaper here than at home.

Japanese tourists who visit the Sheraton Universal often approach clerk Rose Kalaw. Because of her Asian features, they think she might speak their language. She can’t, but manages to help them.

Most Japanese stick to their prearranged tours. But the other day, a couple wanted to visit Rodeo Drive. Kalaw provided a hotel limo.

“They actually wanted to give me a dollar,” she said, smiling. “I gave it back to them.”

That almost seemed unpatriotic.

Scott Harris’ column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.