American tourists desert European vacation spots

From luxury hotels on the French Riviera to Viennese cafes and the double-decker buses of London, American tourists have deserted Europe en masse.

The reasons for the drop in US visitors include a weak dollar, post-Sept. 11 fears of terrorism and the diplomatic dispute with some European countries over the Iraq war.

In France, the absence of Americans is headline news. Le Monde newspaper summed it up in a front-page cartoon that shows two French vacationers reclining under a palm tree.

"Let's not exaggerate! I spotted an American," one of them tells his friend. "Lance Armstrong?"

It's overdoing it to say the US cycling hero who won this year's Tour de France to clinch his fifth straight victory is the only American around these days.

But barely.

Some million Americans stayed in hotels across France in the first five months of this year, down nearly 30 percent from the same period a year earlier, according to figures provided by the Tourism Ministry. The drop coincides with the diplomatic crisis between France and the US over Iraq.

Some percent fewer North Americans visited Britain from May to June, and 25 percent less traveled to the popular Swiss resort of Lucerne, officials said.

Italy, meanwhile, reported a 20 percent drop in the number of American tourists in March, while Spanish authorities said nearly 23 percent less traveled to Spain in the first half of this year compared to 2001, before the Sept. 11 attacks.

"The situation is worse than bad," said Christel Bauer, who sells Mozart busts, miniature dolls and T-shirts at her souvenir shop in Vienna's old quarter.

"We used to have so many people I couldn't even run to the bathroom. But now look," she said, gesturing to the empty store. "Do you see any tourists?"

Her complaints were echoed hundreds of kilometers away in Amsterdam.

"In July and August, the doorbell usually never stops ringing," said Mara Miller, who runs the "My Home" budget hotel, popular with tourists who like to take advantage of Holland's lax cannabis laws.

"It's not ringing," Miller said. "I've never seen it like this. Ever. Not in 10 years: having empty rooms in July -- even an empty bed -- is unheard of."

But while there is general agreement in the "old Europe" that Americans have become far and few between, explanations for their disappearance vary greatly.

"I do believe the big problem we've had is the Iraq war, following on from Sept. 11," said Ron Goldsmith, an operations controller for the Big Bus Company, which organizes double-decker bus tours of London's major sites.

He said up to half the Americans were riding the bus this year compared to last.

"They are still a bit twitchy about flying," Goldsmith said. "They're still very, very nervous about what's happening" and the persistent threat of terrorism.

Americans did make the trip, however, mostly blame the weakness of the dollar that has made traveling in Europe more expensive, for keeping their compatriots away. The dollar slid 18 percent against the euro in the first half of this year.

"Frankly, I think it's the dollar," said Tehmina Tannir, 39, of Santa Monica, California, watching the ceremonial changing of the guard outside Buckingham Palace.

She said she cut back her normal clothing and shoe shopping by 40 percent.

But for the French, who watched the US-led invasion of Iraq with horror and took the brunt of Washington's wrath for opposing the war, the causes go much deeper.

"We simply don't like each other anymore," said Jacques Milbert, a mustachioed Parisian taxi driver. "If the Americans want to stay at home and eat burgers, that's their problem, not ours."

Fury in the US earlier this year over France's refusal back the invasion of Iraq, in some cases sparking impromptu boycotts of French wine and cheese.