Business Notes TOURISM

The U.S. suffered a trade deficit of $115 billion last year, but Americans can take consolation from the tidy sum they are earning from foreigners in a service-oriented business: tourism. Last week the Government reported the first-ever U.S. travel surplus. During 1989 foreign visitors spent $34.3 billion in the U.S., or $450 million more than Americans spent abroad. The U.S. Travel and Tourism Administration predicts that in 1990 the surplus will exceed $1.5 billion.

Canada and Mexico topped the guest list, sending 24.5 million visitors between them. Next were the Japanese, with 3 million tourists. But the Japanese spent more on their trips than any other group, a total of $6 billion, compared with $4.8 billion for the second-place Canadians. The No. 1 destination among all visitors to America: Walt Disney World in Orlando.