REGION

REGION
Lawrence Co. tourism
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Twenty area businesses and organizations are offering tours, discounts, demonstrations and open houses Saturday as part of Celebration of Tourism in Lawrence County.
Detailed fliers with maps of businesses participating are available at the Lawrence County tourism office, 229 S. Jefferson St., Suite 102 or by calling (888) 284-7599 or (724) 654-8408.
Mobile classroomon travel and tourism
POLAND -- This year, the Travel and Tourism Institute's Mobile Classroom will make its first stop of the season, and only stop in Ohio, at Carlson Wagonlit Travel's Poland office.
The 45-foot custom coach raises awareness about economic and cultural benefits of traveling. It also provides information about career opportunities in the travel and tourism industry.
The mobile classroom will be open to classes from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and to the general public from 3 to 7 p.m. May 1. For more information or to schedule a group tour call (330) 742-5565, #121.
Over the past year the mobile classroom visited 30 states traveling 25,000 miles and presenting educational programs to more than 7,000 students.
'Mystery Tour' featuresTrumbull County sites
NILES -- In observance of National Tourism Week, May 6-12, and its 20th Anniversary Celebration, plans are under way for a second local "Mystery Tour" by the Trumbull County Convention and Visitors Bureau on May 9. "Traipsing Through Trumbull II" is open to the public and will feature a new daylong itinerary of tourism sites that are visited annually by tourists.
As with last year's successful and sold-out tour, participants will travel by motor coach and visit various attractions throughout their hometown just as national and state motor-coach visitors annually experience and pay to see. Statistics compiled by the Convention and Visitors Bureau indicate that 205 one-day and 91 overnight tours visited Trumbull County during 2000. These visits were a direct result of tourism marketing by the bureau's staff.
The tour costs $24.00 per person and will include a continental breakfast, lunch, attraction admissions, special gift items and treats, and transportation. Those interested should call the Convention and Visitors Bureau at (330) 544-3468 or (800) 672-9555 to make a reservation. Full payment will be required to confirm all tour reservations. Deadline for reservations is May 1.
NATION
European masters' artto come to Alabama
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) -- The Birmingham Museum of Art celebrated its 50th anniversary with an announcement of a special showing of European masters spanning six centuries.
The show, which opens in February 2002, comprises 88 works by painters including Rembrandt, Gainsborough, Monet, Picasso, Tintoretto, El Greco and Hockney.
"European Masterpieces: Six Centuries of Paintings" from the National Gallery in Victoria, Australia, will also travel to four other U.S. sites -- the Cincinnati Art Museum, the Kimbell Art Museum in Forth Worth, Texas, the Denver Art Museum and the Portland, Ore., Art Museum.
Originally, the exhibit was to return home after Portland, but BMA Director Gail Trechsel, director of the Birmingham museum, persuaded National Gallery representatives to include Birmingham after the Portland run.
Since their acquisition early last century by the National Gallery, the paintings have never been seen outside Australia. They are touring while the museum is being remodeled.
"What's so wonderful is that not only does it represent so many artists that are not in our permanent collection and who people don't have much of a chance to see otherwise, but that the quality is so good," Trechsel said.
Trechsel anticipates that "European Masters," which doesn't have exact dates set for its Birmingham run, will be the most important exhibit the BMA has presented since the Armand Hammer show in 1985.
Remembering soldierskilled in ship explosion
VICKSBURG, Miss. (AP) -- Descendants of Union soldiers killed in the worst maritime disaster in American history are asking city leaders in Vicksburg to help erect a marker to those who died on what has been called the "Titanic of the Mississippi."
Civil War historian Pam Newhouse knows all about the ill-fated journey of the steamship Sultana that left the wharf at Vicksburg on April 24, 1865. Her great-great-grandfather was one of the estimated 1,700 passengers who died three days later when three of the ship's four boilers exploded as Sultana steamed north to Cairo, Ill.
By contrast, about 1,500 died when the Titanic sank 47 years later in the North Atlantic.
The spring of 1865 had seen the end of the four-year Civil War, and Vicksburg had become a staging area for former prisoners of war returning to their Northern homes.
Exact numbers were not kept, but it is estimated that some 2,300 people, most of them former POWs, were packed aboard the steamer when it left Vicksburg. The Sultana's legal limit was 376.
About seven miles upriver from Memphis, the Sultana passed a cluster of islands known as the "Hen and Chickens" around 1 a.m. There, earlier hasty repairs on one of the boilers gave out, and the midsection of the ship exploded in a ball of fire seen as far away as Memphis.
Nantucket travel guideavailable by mail for $7
The Nantucket Island Chamber of Commerce has released The Official 2001 Guide to Nantucket. The 300-page guide is filled with lodging, dining, shopping, arts and entertainment, transportation and recreation options, beautiful photography, editorial features and a comprehensive listing of the 650 chamber member businesses and organizations.
To order, call (508) 228-1700, visit www.nantucketchamber.org, or write to Nantucket Chamber of Commerce, 48 Main Street, Nantucket, MA 02554. Guides are sent Priority Mail, and a fee of $7 is charged. Free copies can be picked up at the chamber office.
Win free lodging atone of 380 inns, B & amp;Bs
Win "The Vacation of a Lifetime" from Select Registry, Distinguished Inns of North America.
The winner will receive a free night of lodging at one of 380 country inns, bed and breakfasts and small hotels across the United States and Canada.
Complete official contest rules are posted on the organization's Web site at www.selectregistry.com or can be obtained by calling (866) 442-7353.
Disney hotels offerdiscounts for teachers
The Walt Disney World Swan Hotel and Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel are rewarding teachers with a year-round $99 per room, per night "Teacher's Break" rate. (Some blackout periods apply.)
The four-star-rated hotels are located between Epcot and Disney-MGM Studios and are minutes from Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park and Downtown Disney area via complimentary round-trip shuttle service.
The hotels offer 17 restaurants and lounges, four swimming pools, two health clubs and five nearby championship Walt Disney World golf courses.
Visit www.swandolphin.com for more information.
Virginia cycling guide
The 2001-2002 Virginia Bicycling Guide helps cyclists plan tours through Virginia's diverse countryside. It is available by calling (800) 835-1203.
More information on bicycling in Virginia is available at www.vdot.state.va.us on the Web.
For Virginia travel information, visit www.virginia.org or call (804) 786-4484.
WORLD
Swiss hotels haverecord winter season
BERN, Switzerland (AP) -- Swiss hotels have enjoyed a record winter, thanks to the booming domestic economy, favorable exchange rates, and lots of snow from the outset of the ski season.
The Federal Statistical Office says there were some 8 million overnight hotel stays between December and February, 6 percent higher than last season and 12 percent above the average of the past five years.
An increase in tourists from other European countries -- notably Germany and Britain -- was largely responsible for the bumper season. There was a 10 percent rise in visitors from the United States, an 11 percent rise from Japan, and 33 percent rise from Russia.
The statistical office said the relatively weak Swiss franc against other currencies served as a magnet to foreign tourists, while high consumer confidence swelled the number of Swiss visitors.
Dubai openscruise ship terminal
Dubai opened a new cruise ship terminal recently, welcoming Cunard's Queen Elizabeth II as its first guest.
The region's only dedicated passenger complex, the Dubai terminal will serve the growing number of cruise ships calling in the Arabian Gulf, where numbers have risen from seven in 1997 to an expected 50 calls this year. The terminal is expected to offer services such as baggage handling and tour bus stands, but guests also will find a post office and money exchange, and a business center with Internet access. There's also cafes, duty-free shopping, an Arabic palm garden, and heritage and cultural exhibits.
Terminal officials say the facility meets all international security standards.