Travel briefs
Tourism counts in small economies
International tourism receipts (in millions) as a share of GDP in 1999 in selected small nations, from a new Worldwatch Institute study ($5; 888-544-2303):
Maldives ($325) 88 percent
St. Lucia ($311) 48 percent
Antigua and Barbuda ($291) 45 percent
Macao ($2,466) 40 percent
Barbados ($677) 27 percent
Vanuatu ($56) 23 percent
Seychelles ($112) 21 percent
Jamaica ($1,279) 19 percent
Belize ($112) 15 percent
Costa Rica ($1,002) 7 percent
St. Thomas Carnival to be the largest ever
Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands (ap) The St. Thomas Carnival, celebrating its 50th anniversary in April, is to be the largest ever in the U.S. Virgin Islands, with concerts, boat races, calypso contests, parades and street parties scheduled throughout the month.
The main parades are April 26 and 27.
For decades, the St. Thomas Carnival has been the centerpiece of cultural life in the Virgin Islands, a U.S. territory of 110,000 people. It draws thousands of islanders to events from rowdy all-night street parties to children’s pageants and dances for senior citizens.
Dinosaur exhibit draws large crowds in Taiwan
Taipei, Taiwan (ap) Large crowds of people are flocking to a Taiwan exhibit of dinosaur fossils from China, home to many of the world’s oldest and largest specimens.
The exhibit of 23 dinosaur fossils from the collections of three Chinese fossil museums is the largest of its kind in Asia, says Li Kui, curator of the Museum of Chengdu University of Technology.
The three-month exhibit opened Jan. 26.