European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 25, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Americans by James Barron new York times Ith gasoline prices falling the value of the Dollar declining and fears of terrorism rising thousands of american vacationers Are making plans to stick closer to Home this summer. People Are becoming very patriotic All of a sudden said june Magrino the director of marketing for Hughes International travel in new York. They re staying Home. If they live on the East coast they want to go to the West coast or do a cruise Down the Mississippi  and Many intend to be on the Road again. Once the magic Dollar Mark on the Price of Gas was broken people started taking a lot More spontaneous weekend vacations said Steve Trombetti a spokesman for the american hotel and Motel association. People Are using their cars As pleasure vehicles  of course Many people s summer travel plans Are still Uncertain. But several states already say they Are expecting record numbers of tourists and record revenues from taxes on hotels restaurant meals and souvenirs. Travel experts say the Cash registers May ring up record profits for the Domestic tourist Industry which did $224 billion in business last year. Western states Are counting on a spending spree by motorists going to the expo 86 world s fair opening next month in Vancouver British Columbia. The Northeast is looking Forward to the july 4 Celebration at the statue of Liberty. Other suddenly popular destinations Are National Parks and state campgrounds where rangers fear they will have to play traffic cop to Long lines of cars with camping trailers this summer. The Interior department expects attendance at National Parks to break last year s record of 267 million visitors by As much As 10 percent. Companies that plan Tours Are scheduling trips to Domestic resorts As alternatives to european destinations Given Many vacationers fears Over safety. After the explosion aboard a trans world airlines Jet Over Greece and the recent . Bombing of Libya Many tourists cancelled their overseas reservations. In addition the value of the Dollar has slipped significantly in relation to european currencies so that foreign vacations will not be the bargain this summer that they were last year. People come in and say they were supposed to go to Greece or Italy said Nick Monte the owner of Gurney s inn in Montauk ., and now they Don t know Why they want to spend so much time travelling abroad when things Are so Good at  he says 1986 May be his Best season yet. Resort operators in Florida California and Hawaii Are optimistic too. Florida played Host to 30.1 million tourists last year who spent $22 billion. This year is already looking like a record year said Dean Gaiser the state tourism director. And Florida bound motorists lured by cheaper Gas prices Are planning to travel in style. After David Graul decided to drive his family to Walt Disney s Epcot Center the big question was which car to take their 1983 Renault Alliance which gets 25 Miles to the gallon or their 1977 Plymouth with its Gas thirsty v-8 engine. After some arithmetic Graul packed the Plymouth. No question about it less expensive gasoline was the deciding Factor said Graul a Detroit Bank executive. The big car Only gets 13 or 14 Miles a gallon but if we took the smaller one we d be a lot less  car dealers around the country say vacation minded customers Are trading in their compact cars for Pusher intermediate size models minivans or recreational vehicles. People Are saying if Gas is $1, Why should i get a Small car " said Chester Ross the sales manager of or. Pontiac in Bay Shore  They want More Comfort and More trunk  they also want to rent recreational vehicles and motor Homes which typically get Only six to 10 Miles to the gallon. Advance bookings for these carpeted behemoths Are outpacing demand at rental dealers from Michigan to Florida. Yuppies who used to go to Europe Are coming in droves to see America in a r.v.," said Byron Fisher of american safari a Miami based Chain whose reservations for recreational vehicles have doubled this year. Europe would have been fun said Craig Brown of Kendall fla., who dropped his plans to visit friends in West Germany. But when the to is showing people dead in airports i m not going to subject my wife and 5-year-old boy to that kind of  instead the Browns Are renting a 24-foot motor Home for a two week drive from Denver to Seattle. Flight tips for pets United press International jitters because of plane travel Are hardly confined to humans pets experience them  taking animals along for the flight can follow these tips on pet air travel offered by Kim Royal dutch airlines in cooperation with the utrecht University school of veterinary Medicine in the Netherlands. Check with the airline about travel kennels in the passenger Cabin which Are often available to carry cats and Small dogs at the excess baggage rate get the pet accustomed to its travel Kennel starting at least five Days before the flight. Encourage it to spend the night in its travel Kennel put its toys in too. Feed the animal a Light easily digestible meal no later than 12 hours before the flight. Walk a dog just before placing it in the Kennel. Deliver the pet to the airline cargo facility at least three hours before departure. For Long trips with stopovers attach feeding instructions and a bag of food to the top of the Kennel. Consult a veterinarian if Tranquili Zers seem necessary to Calm the animal. For trips abroad consult the airline about necessary documents and possible quarantine arrangements. Is photo by Gus Schuettler get pets accustomed to travel kennels. More americans Are travelling with recreational vehicles and camping. By Fred Shuster associated press t he scenario is the same at crowded american airports from new York to Newport each. A Luggage Laden passenger puts his bags Down to Tell a stranger the time. In those few seconds his suitcase is stolen. Bands of Well trained South americans specializing in picking pockets and snatching Luggage have targeted the nation s busiest airports and Security officials say the proceeds Are making their Way into the drug Trade. Just in the past 21/z weeks my undercover officers have made a dozen colombian arrests said it. Gabe Ornelas of the los Angeles police Airport detail. We believe the 12 suspects Are linked. I think this is a conspiracy of people who Are trained in Colombia then come up to Miami or the Center of los Angeles and go out to wherever the crowds Are whether it s the Rose bowl the Airport or  police at several major airports including new York Miami and san Francisco have compiled a shared Dat Bank of theft related arrests allowing authorities to keep track of a crime trend that last year resulted in the loss of $3 million in property at los Angeles International Airport alone. A lot of them Are members of Large extended colombian  said capt. Bernard j. Wilson of the los Angeles department of airports police. They la move into a town with fake identification j into an apartment or hotel and get to work Wilson said in a recent interview. They la always have enough Cash left Over where if one of them gets caught they la bail out right away. And if the heat gets too hot they pack up and move to another  Many of the thieves Are trained at a crime College where students Are Given a unique final exam. With pickpockets we be found there Are several schools in South America. One is called the school of the seven Bells " Wilson said. For the graduation test the teacher puts on a coat with seven Bells attached and the student must pick his pockets without ringing the  authorities say the thieves profile their victims and know that Small carry on baggage sometimes holds jewelry and Cash. They like to look at asian flights for expensive briefcases expensive Luggage Ornelas said. And they usually work As a team. They re Slick fast and efficient. They might create a disturbance like a family argument right next to where you re standing in line. We be had them drop things on the floor like a Roll of Nickels and while people Are helping to pick them up their Luggage is  another one is the Coffee spill1 where a Guy walks up carrying two cups of Coffee trips and spills them on you Wilson said. Ornelas created his special problems unit last month in response to the 800 thefts reported last year at los Angeles International which processed 36.5 million passengers and boasts the nation s busiest International terminal. He predicts More than 1,000 people will be robbed this year. Ornelas says that because snatch thievery is a non violent non confrontational crime the arrest rate is Low. Sometimes the victim does t realize what has happened. And when there is an arrest it is difficult to get a conviction because most victims Are from other states and won t come Back to prosecute. The suspects who Are sometimes illegal aliens know that so we apprehend them and the District attorney says let s file against this person.1 but the victim who now has his Luggage Back does t come Back to los Angeles. So we have to let the suspect go. It s a revolving door Ornelas said. Airport Security officials say the answer is Public awareness. Ornelas is promoting a seven minute film produced by the san Mateo sheriff s department illustrating How Airport thieves work. He wants to show it in flight As a warning to passengers but said the plan is on hold because the corporate people say it would instill  keep an Eye on your Luggage at All times when travelling. A photo Page 14 the stars and stripes Friday april 25, 1986 the stars and stripes Page 15