U.S. Draws Record Number of Tourists : Travel: California led the nation, luring 4.6 million foreigners last year. Overseas visitors spent more in the United States than American tourists did abroad for the first time.

WASHINGTON —  California led the way last year as the United States attracted a record 38.3 million foreign tourists and created a surplus in tourist dollars for the first time in the nation’s history, the Commerce Department reported Monday.

“Tourism today is the No. 1 export in the United States,” said Rockwell A. Schnabel, under secretary of commerce for travel and tourism, in announcing a $450-million U.S. travel surplus.

Schnabel predicted that America’s share of the world tourist market would continue to grow from the current $34.3 billion (9.6%) to $66 billion (13%) by the year 2000. He said the growth is spurred by a comparatively weak dollar, more money becoming available to foreigners who have not traveled before and “because we have a better product to sell.”

The department’s U.S. Travel and Tourism Administration said American and foreign travelers spent an equal $8.7 billion in getting to their destinations in 1989. But foreign visitors spent roughly $34.3 billion in the United States, while Americans spent about $33.9 billion abroad.

That represents a substantial turnaround from as recently as 1985, when the United States posted a $9.4-billion deficit in travel dollars. By 1988, the deficit had shrunk to about $2.5 billion before turning into a surplus last year.

Of last year’s visitors, more than 15 million were Canadians and 9.3 million were Mexicans.

Not counting Canada and Mexico, America’s two traditionally strongest partners in tourism, an unprecedented 4.6 million overseas tourists traveled to California alone last year--an increase of 2.19 million since 1985, according to the report. New York placed second, with 3.8 million overseas travelers, up from 1.55 million four years ago. Florida placed third at 3.1 million, up from 1.77 million over the same period. The average increase per state nationwide was 264,000.

Increasing percentages of tourists are coming from Asia and Europe, which U.S. government officials see as a promising trend. Since 1985, tourism from Europe has grown 121% and from Asia 100%, compared to Mexico’s comparatively moderate 27% and Canada’s 39%. Categorized by the Commerce Department as “breaking into the big time” of tourist volume are South Korea (up 64% last year), Sweden and Taiwan, along with Australia, which neared the 1-million mark in 1989.

The effects of the transition of Western Europe to a single economic bloc in 1992 and of the turbulent reforms in Eastern Europe on tourist traffic to the United States cannot be predicted, officials said. Also unknown is the effect a substantial change in the currently favorable exchange rates would have on foreign-tourist traffic.

“If the dollar turns around and strengthens, it would make it more expensive to travel here, no question about it,” said Don Wynegar, director of the Travel and Tourism Administration’s research office. However, he added, “That’s a big, unlikely if.”

Tourism officials point in particular to last year’s estimated attraction of 3 million high-spending Japanese tourists as one indication of the tourism industry’s potential to buoy the American economy and soften the impact of its $50-million-plus trade deficit with Japan.

Sandra T. Gamo, a deputy director of the Travel and Tourism Administration based in Tokyo, said California is already Japan’s No. 1 tourist spot in the United States, and is expected to become even more popular.

She cited TTA polls showing that although the Japanese account for less than 8% of U.S.-bound tourists, they spent $6 billion--17.4% of all tourist dollars spent in America. In public surveys, the Japanese, like their European counterparts, rank Los Angeles, San Francisco and Disneyland among their top five destinations, rivaled only by New York City, Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon.

“To the Japanese, Europe is more associated with art, history--the past,” Gamo said. “America, to a lot of Asians, represents progress, modern living--the future.” Japanese consumers also are increasingly likely to spend dollars on travel as they earn more but remain priced out of many capital investments in their own country, such as housing, she said.

Asked California’s main problem in attracting more visitors, Gamo said, “California has too many attractions, almost. It becomes a matter of competition within the state.”

TOTAL VISITORS

Total foreign tourism in the United States. Arrivals in millions.

1985: 25.7. 1986: 26.3. 1987: 29.7. 1988: 34.2. 1989 (estimate): 38.3.

Source: U.S. Travel and Tourism Administration.

TOP DESTINATIONS

Most popular destinations of overseas travelers, in millions of visitors.

California: 4.6. New York: 3.8. Florida: 3.1. Hawaii: 2.0. Washington, D.C.: 1.3. Texas: 1.2. Nevada: 1.0.

Source: U.S. Travel and Tourism Administration.