Travel briefs

Museum to stage Lewis and Clark exhibit

ST. LOUIS -- The Missouri History Museum says it will showcase the nation's most comprehensive exhibit of the Lewis and Clark expedition, thanks to a $2.5 million gift from St. Louis-based technology company Emerson to help fund it.

"Lewis & Clark: The National Bicentennial Exhibition" will feature some 500 rare artifacts and documents, including William Clark's handwritten, illustrated field journal and the letter of credit from Thomas Jefferson.

St. Louis, the West's first headquarters, is poised to take the spotlight in 2004 when dozens of displays, re-enactments, festivals and concerts will celebrate the 200th anniversary of Lewis and Clark's departure on their great expedition.

"This is the only event being sponsored nationally that will have the real stuff," said Robert Archibald, president of the Missouri Historical Society.

"The exhibit will underscore and highlight St. Louis' central role in the expedition and the expansion of the West."

The exhibit and related events will commemorate the historic Corps of Discovery journey by Clark and Meriwether Lewis to explore and map newly acquired U.S. territory and to chart a transcontinental water route.

The $6.3 million exhibit will run from January to September 2004 at the Missouri History Museum in St. Louis before traveling to Philadelphia, Denver and Portland and the Smithsonian in Washington.

Some 3 million visitors are expected to see the display, which will draw from several national collections.

Vietnamadds security as visitors increase

HANOI, Vietnam -- Vietnam is stepping up security to safeguard foreign visitors, whose numbers rose 11.3 percent in the first 10 months of the year, officials say.

Recent surveys of tourism industry officials have rated Vietnam as one of the safest countries in the Pacific region, but the Oct. 12 terrorist bombings on Indonesia's Bali island have prompted concern about security at destinations across Southeast Asia.

"The government of Vietnam is urging all government bodies and local authorities to step up security measures -- including employing more staff for security checking at border points, tourist sites and all commercial areas -- to safeguard international visitors," says Nguyen Van Luu, director of the National Administration of Tourism's international relations department.

Since communist Vietnam opened wider to foreign tourists over a decade ago, it has emerged as an exotic option for tourists in Southeast Asia, although visitor numbers still lag far behind more popular destinations such as Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.

The tourism administration said 2.175 million foreign visitors arrived in Vietnam during the January-October period. Of that total, 1.2 million were tourists, a 17.3 percent increase from a year ago, it said.

Other arrivals included 362,094 business visitors -- up 10.4 percent from last year -- and 365,387 who came to visit family members in Vietnam, up 9.8 percent from a year ago.

The overall increase in all foreign visitors was 11.3 percent.

The government has set a target of 2.5 million international visitor arrivals this year, up from 2.33 million last year.

In July, Prime Minister Phan Van Khai approved a 10-year tourism development strategy, seeking 3 million to 3.5 million foreign visitors by 2005, and 5.5 million to 6 million by 2010.

--From wire reports