Oh, and Try to Avoid Planes That Crash

A wave of violence against tourists in Miami--including the murder of a German tourist lost in an inner-city neighborhood--prompted the American Automobile Assn. last week to put out a 15-point safety alert. Among the tips: Avoid high-crime areas, “even if it means going out of your way.”

Just don’t expect AAA, or any travel professional for that matter, to identify high-crime areas for you.

Alerting tourists to unsafe areas is a longstanding taboo in an industry built around selling the pleasures of travel. Travel professionals say that linking certain neighborhoods to crime would discourage tourism and lead to charges of discrimination.

What’s more, few travel planners know distant cities well enough to identify high-risk areas, says AAA spokesman Jerry Cheske. He suggests that consumers with safety concerns check with authorities in the city they plan to visit.

But local tourism officials in two cities told us that they would not identify any areas as potentially risky, even if asked.

“There is no part of Los Angeles which I would describe as unsafe,” said Gary Sherwin, spokesman for the Los Angeles Convention & Visitors Bureau. The city, scene of the nation’s worst urban riots this century, is braced for the possibility of new violence after verdicts in the Rodney G. King civil rights trial.

In Miami, convention and visitors bureau spokesman Michael Villafana said information about high-crime areas would be hard to collect and might not be useful. “Crime happens everywhere,” he said.

*

Up in smoke: Philip Morris, which cut the price of Marlboro cigarettes to build sales, is also enticing smokers with invitations to join its “Adventure Team.”

People can collect stamps on specially marked Marlboro packages and exchange them for such items as Swiss army knives, all-weather cigarette lighters and T-shirts with snakes and lizards on them.

This adventure is not without its hazards to your health: You have to smoke a lot of cigarettes to claim the merchandise by the Aug. 31 deadline. To collect enough stamps for an insulated cooler bag, for example, you have to smoke half a cigarette a day. For an inflatable kayak, you need to smoke more than two packs a day.

To get the entire 11-piece collection--complete with flashlight, beach towel and “lizard lip” can-opener--you have to smoke one cigarette every 10 minutes you are awake.

Good thing Philip Morris sets a limit of 20 items for each person.

*

Plate full of problems: Legislators in Florida this month moved to eliminate the word lease and the letter “Y” from license plates on rental cars, making it harder for criminals to spot tourists. The American Rental Car Assn., a trade group, said there is no movement to eliminate special rental car plates in the other states issuing them because violence against tourists hasn’t been a problem. Those states are New York, Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina and Colorado, as well as the District of Columbia.

*

A united effort: How do you increase your sales force without hiring? Get your customers to do the work.

That’s what United Airlines is doing this month in California with members of its frequent-flier program. The airline is offering 2,000 free mileage points to members who persuade a friend or relative to fly United and join the program.

The airline decided to make the offer in California because it is expanding service here, despite an economy that is keeping plenty of people on the ground.

United says it previously ran a similar promotion in Europe with good results.

United offered its European frequent fliers a 5,000-mile point bounty for signing up new members. Gayle Bock, United’s director of marketing programs, said Europeans got a better deal because they aren’t familiar with frequent-flier programs. “They needed an extra incentive,” she said.