Tourism in Louisiana is up 19 percent for 2003

Tourism in Louisiana isup 19 percent for 2003
BATON ROUGE, La. -- Tourism in Louisiana is up 19 percent from last year, thanks in part to tourism related to the Louisiana Purchase bicentennial.
More than 12 million people visited the state during the first half of 2003, about 2 million more than in the same period last year.
Other factors included Mardi Gras, new cruise lines and the Audubon Golf Trail.
Highlights of the bicentennial celebration include art and historical exhibits, operas, musicals and festivals. Closing ceremonies featuring a re-enactment of the purchase signing are slated for Dec. 20 at the Cabildo in New Orleans.
White River refugehopes to snag tourists
ST. CHARLES, Ark. -- Officials of the White River National Wildlife Refuge say they hope a $2 million visitor center will attract tourists in addition to hunters and anglers.
The center opened in mid-October.
Refuge Manager Larry Mallard said that, while most visitors to the refuge are interested in hunting and fishing, there are also opportunities for wildlife photography, canoeing and bird watching on the 16,000-acre refuge.
The refuge takes in 92 river miles and 300 lakes and features towering cypress trees, dense bear population and clouds of waterfowl flying overhead.
For more information, call (870) 946-1468.
Kansas fire museumrenovated, reopened
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- After two years of renovations, the Kansas City Fire Museum reopened in mid-October, with old firetrucks and other firefighting artifacts on display.
Most of the museum's pieces were used by the Kansas City Fire Department, including trucks from 1927 and 1950.
Museum officials believe there is new interest in firefighting among schoolchildren and others since the Sept. 11 attacks, when 343 firefighters lost their lives at the World Trade Center.
For more information about the museum, call (816) 474-0200.
Ga. resident conductshistorical ghost tours
BRUNSWICK, Ga. -- Coastal Georgians don't need horror movies to encounter hovering specters, marauding ghosts or a man breaking into a mausoleum to visit his dead wife.
Those stories are the highlights of a new tour of ghostly haunts in St. Marys.
Seeking to copy the success of ghost tours in places like Savannah and Charleston, St. Marys resident Heather Culp started Bloody Mary's Haunted History to give residents and tourists a glimpse of some of the coastal town's darker moments in history.
For more information on the tours, call (504) 915-7774.
Hotel offers packagefor eloping couples
Times have changed since the impulsive groom placed a ladder under the bedroom window to elope with his beloved.
The wedding coordinators at The Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay in California have embraced the growing trend of elopement and have created three packages to accommodate an eager couple.
All elopement packages include a wedding coordinator, a ceremony set on an ocean bluff, an officiant, a bouquet and boutonniere, a champagne toast, photographer, an oceanfront dinner for two with wedding cake and a guest room complete with champagne and chocolate.
Packages begin at $6,500 and are available Sunday through Thursday only.
And for those who choose a more traditional affair, the hotel hosts larger weddings.
For more information, call (650) 712-7000.