Oct. 18--The Hilton Naples Tower is hurting. Occupancy at the newly built 199-room hotel has been running about 12 to 20 percent in the past month. 

The 960-room Boca Raton Resort & Club properties reports the same. Occupancy is about 20 percent compared with 80 and 90 percent last year. 

Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, bookings at many of Florida's hotels have been canceled, put on hold or rescheduled for next year. Tourism officials have estimated the state could lose $7 billion by June. 

Bruce Davis, corporate sales manager for the Holiday Inn Select and the Homewood Suites Hilton, said at this time of year his hotels usually have bookings for training meetings from Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch. But in the past month, those major accounts have canceled, forcing the hotel to find replacement business. 

"We're hurting," Davis said. "That's why we're here trying to go after the government and association market." 

Davis was among other hoteliers and tourism officials in town Wednesday, hoping to find business at the Tallahassee Society of Association Executives trade show at the Civic Center. About 140 suppliers, including executives, general managers and sales representatives from Florida hotels and tourist destinations, attended the event. 

The trade show was the final one of the year and a particularly important one for Florida's tourism business. Bookings and visits have fallen off sharply since Sept. 11 and continue to decline in some areas of the state because of stories about anthrax exposures. Trade shows won't resume until February. 

The economic slump has been so bad, it's forced many in the industry to lay off workers, cut back hours and push for mandatory vacations. Tuesday, Universal Orlando laid off about 100 workers and Walt Disney World postponed indefinitely the opening of a new resort. 

"We rely on associations and government meetings," said Melissa Sanchez, director of sales and worldwide accounts for the Hilton. Sanchez is based in Orlando. "And we're anxious to see what's going to happen to the budget. Because it's going to affect a lot of hotels if these (state) employees aren't allowed to travel." 

The terrorist-delivered blow to Florida's tourism-based economy has contributed to a $1.3 billion shortfall in the state budget. Next week, legislators will gather for a special session to find areas to slash. 

But in the meantime, hoteliers and tourism officials say they aren't letting up. While some report a rebound, they say business is still not up to the last year's levels. They are kicking off aggressive marketing campaigns. Many are marketing areas that are within driving distance because vacation-goers are still wary of flying. Others are going nationwide. 

"This week we have two people in New York," said Bud St. Pierre, the national sales manager for the Boca Raton Resort & Club. "A week and half ago, I was in Atlanta, and we have three people in Chicago this week." 

Visit Florida, the state's marketing arm, is following suit. Officials are calling for a $45 million advertising campaign -- $20 million of which they are asking from lawmakers -- to run during the winter. 

 "Visit Florida will already bring $20 million to the table," said Tom Flanigan, director of communications for Visit Florida. "We're asking $20 million from the Legislature, and various associations are asking for a supplemental $5 million." 

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(c) 2001, Tallahassee Democrat, Fla. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. HLT, BAS, V, DIS,