The Palm Beach Post from West Palm Beach, Florida • Page 149

THE PALM BEACH POST MARCH 26, 1990 25 Story tore give slow tomM trade a lift mm? -Act SHERMAN ZENTStaff Photographer Main Street News in Palm Beach has foreign-language magazines, and manager Jim McGill says sales are up. Average Occupancy Rates At Palm Beach County hotels Property size I tour operators in Japan. "But Germany will be the strongest over the next five years because their economy is so strong," Foster said. An estimated 1.2 million tourists stayed in Palm Beach County hotels in 1989. They spent $593 million in the county, according to Regional Research reports.

That compares with about 1.1 million tourists who stayed in hotels the prior year, and spending of $554 million. Overall, 2.9 million tourists came to Palm Beach County last year and spent an estimated $1.1 billion, according to Regional Research. The tourism industry supports 41,000 jobs, generates 11 percent of non-farm employment and 9 percent of gross sales in the county, Foster said. Delta Air Lines flew 800,000 passengers out of West Palm Beach in 1989, about 10 percent more than in 1988, said Delta spokesman Vaughn Stinson. Delta handles about 30 percent of the traffic out of Palm Beach International Airport, and puts larger aircraft on routes during peak winter months, increasing the number of available seats from 3,000 per day to 4,400.

"It's been softer this March than last March," Stinson said. "If the climate's mild up north, what's the reason to leave?" In spite of the softer market, nine hotels opened in Palm Beach County in 1989 and 1990 so far, adding more than 1,300 rooms. Among those is the Radisson Suite Hotel, which opened Feb. 10 in Palm Beach Gardens. "We're running at about 87 percent occupancy," said sales director Debra Van Every.

"I really believe there's enough business around here for all of us." But Gillespie of the Palm Beach Howard Johnson said the added hotel rooms have hurt the market. "It's sinister that (accountants) keep telling people to build hotels," he said. "There should not be any more hotels here." No home runs this year Some hotels were hit particularly hard by the baseball labor problems, which lasted from Feb. 16 to March 19. The normal month-long exhibition game season was shortened to two weeks.

"That was quite a blow," said Jim Hines, marketing director for The Palm hotel, which normally provides more than 2,000 room nights to the Atlanta Braves. The West Palm Beach hotel will house the team during the shortened season but still expects to miss out on more than $200,000 in business. City and state officials estimate that normal spring training generates more than $75 million for West Palm Beach, St. Lucie County and Indian River County. West, Palm MILT PUTNAMStaff Photographer (In rooms) Jan.

'89 Jan. '90 Change All properties 71.9 69.0 1-50 75.9 68.1 1-100 72.7 66.1 220-500 69.8 713 1.5 101 71.5 69.3 Average Room Rates At Palm Beach County hotels Property size (In rooms) Jan. '89 Jan. '90 Change All properties $99.47 $95.11 1-100 70.01 67.88 101-500 -k 91.16 87.30 220-500 85.31 82.05 501 222.02 217.65 Preliminary SOURCE: Regional Research Associates, Boca Raton German tourists, including a group who stayed at Howard Johnson-Palm Beach last week, are a big market for many hotels. Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom who stayed in hotels spent $44.7 million in the county in 1989.

The remainder was spent primarily by Finns, Latin Americans and a small but growing number of Japanese. The PGA Sheraton has had more than 500 Japanese guests so far this year, compared with more than 300 at the same time last year, Stearns said. "Japan is really getting stronger and we see that as a potential explosion," Stearns said. "They stay four or five days, play a lot of golf and buy a lot of golf shirts." Next year, Discover Palm Beach County plans more vigorous marketing to Japanese and Italians. Also, Pan American World Airways has applied for one-stop service from Tokyo to Miami.

The Department of Transportation will decide on the route by the end of the year, a DOT spokesman said. "As soon as there's an ease in getting here, we'll spend the money," said Warren "Mac" McLaughlin, executive vice president of Discover. "We try to ride the coattails of the airlines starting the service." Discover is attending a trade mission this month, sponsored by Japan Travel Bureau, to meet to provide translations in about 30 languages, she said. The service refers callers to area residents who speak foreign languages and is available to retailers, hoteliers and other businesses. And for the first time, international tour operators will visit St.

Lucie County in June as part of a familiarization trip sponsored by the Florida Division of Tourism. About a third of St. Lucie County's 3 percent bed tax on hotel stays is spent on tourism advertising but almost all of it is aimed at visitors from South Florida and the Orlando area. International interest "We don't have the kind of budget to target international trade, that's why we concentrate on the state," said Shawn McAllister, a copywriter for Media Arts Group in Vero Beach, which handles tourism advertising for St. Lucie County.

"But I'm getting more and more requests for information from overseas tour operators." Foreigners who stayed in Palm Beach County hotels spent an estimated $66.6 million in the county in 1989, compared with $29.8 million in 1988, according to John Wilson, accountant for the Tourist Development. Council, Tourists from. But the spring training delay could help hotels and business in April, a traditionally slow month, tourism officials said. In addition, sporting and cultural events scheduled in April and May are expected to lure more tourists to Palm Beach County. Upcoming events include: PGA Seniors' Championship, April 12-15.

The Palm Beach Gardens golf tournament drew an estimated 40,000 spectators last year. Grand Prix of the Palm Beaches, April 20-22. An estimated 59,000 people attended the auto last year. Delray Affair, April 20-22. The arts, crafts and food festival in Delray Beach drew about 240,000 people last year.

SunFest, May 4-6. An estimated 375,000 people attended, the music and arts festival last year in West Palm Beach. tt A Beach, spring home to the Braves and the Montreal Expos, collects about $30 million alone, St. Lucie and Indian River are training sites for the New York Mets; and Los Angeles Dodgers, respectively. "The jury is still out but we may be finding out spring training had much more of an impact than we originally thought," said Charles Lehmann, executive director of the Palm Beach County Tourist Development Council.

West Palm Beach businesses and hotels estimate they may be able to recoup half their projected earnings for the normal spring training period. John Mahoney, owner of Man-ero's restaurant in West Palm Beach, normally provides more than $30,000 worth of catered food to the Braves press box and team training table. He expects to vide less than half that in the two week season- that ends April 8. 'i.