Yankee, Come Back!

In 1817, Lord Byron looked with chagrin upon all the foreign tourists visiting one of his favorite countries and complained that Italy was "pestilent with English." Italy is quite a bit different this year--and so is every other country in Europe. Not only are many Britons spending the summer of' 74 back in their own backyards but so are other Europeans, as well as the usually ubiquitous Japanese and the big-tipping Americans. Tourism, which ranks among the world's largest industries in terms of money spent abroad, is in a slough.

Inflation, recession and even revolution have combined to reduce sharply the number of travelers to Europe. As a result, airlines, hotels, restaurants, theaters, travel agencies and countless other enterprises that depend upon foreign travelers are hurting. "The European market has turned from a travel heaven to a bottom-line hell," reports Travel Trade, a U.S. news weekly for the touring business.

The most obvious absentees are the Americans. "The free-spending Americans are gone," laments a Munich hotel manager. "All we get this year are the young backpackers, touring Europe on the cheap." Applications for U.S. passports this year have fallen by 15%. Ac cording to the latest figures, passenger travel across the North Atlantic on scheduled airlines is down by 4% and off by 27% on charter flights. One reason of course is that air fares have jumped by about one-third in the past year, largely because jet-fuel prices have climbed so high. Longer trips are especially forbidding; thus many Japanese and Brazilians as well as Americans have never got off the ground.

Staying Home. In an effort to make up for the loss of foreign travelers, Britain, France and Sweden launched advertising campaigns to encourage their own citizens to travel within the homeland. "Sweden is fantastic," trumpeted one campaign, and great numbers of Swedes stayed home to a not-so-fantastic, record-setting July rainfall. More than a million Britons, or about a quarter of those who normally go abroad for their summer vacations, are holidaying at home. Millions of Frenchmen are staying home. Those Europeans who are traveling at home are forsaking more expensive resort hotels in favor of pensions and campgrounds.

The West Germans appear to be an exception to the trend. Last year for the first time they spent more money touring abroad ($6.5 billion) than the usual international champions, the Americans (who spent $5.4 billion). Though West Germany has economic problems, it also has millions of highly affluent people who continue to display an exceptional wanderlust. On the other hand, the U.S. this year will lead all other countries in gross income derived from tourism, an expected $3.25 billion. Indeed, Europeans who have the means find some of the best bargains in North America. Some 120,000 West Germans are expected to visit Canada. Through May, 2.2 million tourists came to the U.S., 16% more than last year.

In Italy, by contrast, where more than a million people depend on the tourist dollar, business has dropped between 30% and 40% from last year, amounting to a loss of several hundred million dollars. "Gli Italiani sono schifosi [Italians are stinkers]," said a Rome taxi driver. "No wonder no one comes now, what with dirt, noise, high prices, poor service and cheating."

Portugal, where business in some tourist-centered restaurants and shops has dropped 70% from last year, is suffering more than other countries, due to last spring's revolution and to a cholera epidemic (more than 1,000 cases this summer). Signs on the Spanish side of the border warn travelers of cholera in Portugal and invite them to stay in Spain; in some parts of Spain, business is off about 20%. Tourism in Cyprus, which had been one of the few countries bucking the slump, is nonexistent. Cancellations at Greek hotels, which were already operating considerably below capacity, have been running at about 50% since the Cyprus crisis.

The slump has its brighter side. Restaurants throughout Europe are uncrowded, service is gracious, hotel reservations are seldom necessary and bargains, though rare, can be found. Some shops have marked prices in half. If they are not part of the travel trade, many residents of usually tourist-laden lands are enjoying the absence of the foreigners. "It's lovely," rejoiced one London resident. "For the first time in years, I can walk from Green Park to Oxford Circus without being stopped by a dozen Americans who are attempting to discover the way to London Bridge!"

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