Nov. 2--LONG BEACH, Calif.--The Anaheim Convention Center was like a ghost town after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, but the head of the visitors' bureau expects operations to return to nearly normal levels by March. 

"There was no business, it was empty; there were ghosts," said Charles Ahlers of the Anaheim/Orange County Visitor & Convention Bureau, who put a crystal ball on the speaker's dais at a Southern California tourism conference at the Hyatt in Long Beach. "But barring any disaster, we'll be at a 90 percent recovery by the end of the first quarter." 

Tourism officials from the Mexican border to Santa Barbara gathered Thursday at the Hyatt to assess the damage from the attacks and gaze into the future. 

Hotel occupancy across Orange County for 2001 will decline to 69 percent, down nearly 5 percent from last year, estimates a report by Los Angeles-based hospitality consulting group PKF Consulting. The report, compiled after Sept. 11, also forecasts that occupancy rates will rebound in 2002 to 70.8 percent. 

"Some people might think that's a little aggressive, but I think (Orange County has) a strong ability to ride a rough market," said Bruce Baltin, PKF senior vice president, who also cautioned the 175 conference participants that the figures could change because of the uncertain economic climate. 

As fewer people stay in hotels, area managers have boosted revenue by increasing prices, Baltin said. Daily room prices will increase 8.2 percent this year, to $119, and another 4.2 percent, to $124, in 2002, the report forecast. 

While four or five hotel construction projects were delayed in Orange County after the attacks, the area is relatively insulated from economic downturns because it has a diverse commercial and industrial base, Baltin said. 

The lodging market across Southern California already was slackening before the attacks, presenters told the delegates. Consumer confidence and leisure travelers had kept the hotel industry afloat even as corporate travel dried up. 

The Sept. 11 attacks changed that, as people become more reluctant to fly or travel far from home, experts at the conference said. To compensate, hotels need to attract a new market -- mostly the California-drive market, they said. 

Until now, the tourist industry has encouraged weekend getaway travel for destination drivers. Industry leaders said that they should shift their pitch to lure tourists who used to fly, but want to stay close to home. 

"Californians don't like to be glued to their house," said Steve Goodling, president of the Long Beach Area Convention & Visitors Bureau. "They might do it one or two weekends, but after that, they're out of there." 

In Anaheim, where almost 2,500 new hotel rooms were built in the last year, the convention center already has sent two direct mailings to solicit the drive market and is offering several package deals. 

"You've built it, now you want to make sure people come," said Nancy Sidhu, senior economist for the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation. "We're not sure when the time will come, but it will. So batten down for now, but be ready." 

The Anaheim Convention Center was hit with a 35 percent drop in occupancy rates immediately after the attacks. About 20,000 convention delegates, 28 conventions -- including two major events -- and $13 million in expected revenue also were lost after the attacks. 

The center is poised to recover if large companies begin spending on travel again, Ahlers said. 

"Everybody wants to make the bottom line, and corporate America has pulled back," he said. "Corporate America is really making it difficult for the rest of us to recover." 

Bookings are normal at the convention center through 2002, and at least one group has reserved space for a gathering in 2017, said communications director Elaine Cali. 

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(c) 2001, The Orange County Register, Calif. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. HYAT,