Coastal Tourism

As our name implies, this is lake country. We have more than 400 lakes within 25 miles of Detroit Lakes in west central Minnesota. Whether you are looking for a nature getaway, an active family vacation, a memorable convention or a pampered rest, we have something for you. There are lots of winter events going on in Detroit Lakes, check out the calendar for more event details or visit our lodging pages to find a place to stay! Looking ahead? The Detroit Lakes Festival of Birds is a very popular event - May 17-20, 2007. This year's special guest is nationally known illustrator and author David Allen Sibley. Visit Detroit Lakes Online and In Person We invite you to travel around our web site to find out about Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. Find the perfect lodging on our interactive maps. Search for events on our calendar - there's something to do year round. Find out about our local business in our directories, which include area lodging, Fishing, Birding. Learn about specials on our hot deals and coupon pages.

Providing information and photos of Halong Bay plus transfer, boat charter, tours and cruises from Hanoi.

Singapore's early status as a port of call for traders from all over the world and especially Southeast Asia, led to the creation of a multi-cultural society, completely at home with the myriad of languages and people sharing this small island. Three main races dominate the scene - the Chinese, Malays and Indians - with a number of other minorities. As a result, Singapore has four official languages - English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil. The main religions practiced here are Taoism, Buddhism, Islam, Christianity and Hinduism. The Malays are the natives of Singapore, as they were the only ethnic group that existed on the island before its founding. In the early 1820s, the Malays dominated much of Singapore's population growth due to inter-marriages with early Indonesian immigrants. Now however they make up only about 15% of the population. The Malays are devout followers of Islam and celebrate two main festivals - Hari Raya Puasa and Hari Raya Haji. The Indians came mainly from the south of India and Sri Lanka and brought with them their religion, culture and art. Besides Tamil, some of the other languages spoken by Indians are Malayalam, Punjabi, Telegu, Hindi and Bengali. The Indians are mainly Hindus and celebrate two big festivals, Thaipusam and Deepavali. The temple is the focal point of many Hindu festivals and ceremonies and you can find a large number of Hindu temples in Singapore today, built mostly in southern Indian style. Islam and Christianity are also practised by some Indians. When Sir Stamford Raffles first set foot on the island in 1819, there were very few Chinese immigrants around. Since then, the Chinese population has grown, and since the 1830s, the Chinese have been the largest ethnic group in Singapore, making up nearly three-quarters of the population. The Hokkiens, Teochews, Cantonese and Hakkas are the four major Chinese dialect groups, speaking Mandarin as well as their own dialects. The Chinese are mainly Buddhists and Taoists with less than ten percent of them practising Christianity. There are various festivals celebrated by the Chinese. The Lunar New Year is the most popular event celebrated by the Chinese around the start of the year. Other festivals celebrated by the Chinese include the Hungry Ghost Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival. Christmas is also an event celebrated by Singaporeans at the end of the year. Catholics celebrate this holy event with midnight mass at churches around the island, while other Singaporeans join in the celebrations with a shopping frenzy! Orchard Road along with various shopping centres around the island can be found decked out in their holiday best, with fairy lights bringing a vibrant glow to all the festivities! With such a great variety of festivals held throughout the year, there's always something happening on this sunny island. So if you're planning a trip this way, check out our calendar of Public Holidays so you can plan a trip around one for a great cultural experience.

The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) is an economic development agency for one of Singapore's key service sectors - tourism. The mission of the Board is to develop and champion tourism, so as to build the sector into a key driver of economic growth for Singapore. With its strategic tourism units covering the key purposes of visit by tourists, the STB will work towards revitalising traditional segments ranging from sightseeing and attractions to business travel, as well as actively tap into emerging segments such as healthcare and education services. These initiatives will be reinforced by STB's international operations which cover the key markets in Asia, Oceania, Europe and Americas, with expanded resources to capitalise on growth markets like China and India. STB's goal is to create exciting and innovative experiences for our visitors, in close partnership with the trade industry, thus etching forever in visitors' minds an image of Singapore as a unique and compelling destination. Vision To be a leading economic development agency in tourism, always setting new benchmarks and pioneering best practices. Mission We develop and champion tourism, so as to build the sector into a key driver of economic growth for Singapore. Values We are focused on achieving our mission and vision. We put the customer first. We are proactive. We take initiative and are relentless in pursuing our goals. We value knowledge as our core tool. We build deep knowledge. We use it and share it. We are boundaryless in our mindset and approach. We think beyond constraints and work collaboratively. We are enterprising. We challenge norms, take risks and are willing to experiment. We find passion and put fun in everything we do. The Singapore Tourist Promotion Board was first established in 1964 with the mandate to promote Singapore as a tourist destination. The thinking of the government then was that an organisation was needed to coordinate the efforts of hotels, airlines and travel agents in promoting the overall image of the destination. We began work with a small staff strength of 25. That year we welcomed 91,000 visitors. We initiated and developed marketing campaigns. We created a symbol - the Merlion. We established travel agent licensing and tourist guide training. Through the 1960s and 1970s, the Board actively encouraged investment in infrastructural development such as the building of hotels and tourist attractions like the Jurong BirdPark and the resort island of Sentosa. In the 1970s, the Board marketed the city as a venue for conventions and organised events to draw visitors. The 1980s heralded the implementation of a S$1 billion Tourism Product Development Plan, which called for the saving of our historic districts, such as Chinatown, Little India, Arab Street and our colonial hub, and the rejuvenation of the Singapore River. A collaborative effort undertaken by the Board and the local tourism industry resulted in the launch of a national tourism masterplan, Tourism 21: Vision of A Tourism Capital in July 1996. On 11 January 2005, Minister for Trade and Industry, Mr Lim Hng Kiang, unveiled the Board's bold targets to ensure that tourism remains a key economic pillar by tripling Tourism Receipts to S$30 billion, doubling visitor arrivals to 17 million, and creating an additional 100,000 jobs in the services sector by 2015. These targets will drive future initiatives and catapult growth in the tourism industry over the next 10 years, catalysed by a S$2 billion Tourism Development Fund. The Board's new name and corporate identity were officially unveiled by the Second Minister for Trade and Industry BG (NS) George Yeo on 19 November 1997, to reflect the Board expanding its role beyond that of simply tourist promotion. The new identity of the Singapore Tourism Board is encased in a shape derived from an architectural detail found in Singapore's Peranakan shophouses. This, together with the 'Singapore' logotype in the calligraphic script, reflects the modern, multi-cultural yet distinctly Asian nature of our island republic and its people. The rich green colour of the identity is corporate and distinctive. It also points to the tropical Garden City that is home to the STB and continued growth of the tourism industry. In February 2003, the Singapore Tourism Board announced a review of its strategies and resource allocation to place more emphasis on growth areas. The result of this was a re-organisation of STB's former internal structure, with the major change being the formation of eight strategic tourism units which are tasked to propel growth in the various growth sectors. Resources have also been rationalised to increase our presence in the growth markets, for instance China and India. No single entity can determine the success of the tourism industry. While the STB acknowledges its leadership role in driving the industry, strong collaboration and support of key industry players are also critical, especially in times of crisis. The STB values long-term win-win partnerships as it believes that the sharing of experiences, expertise and resources will maximise business opportunities for the tourism sector. For a summary of major STB-supported initiatives for the tourism sector over the past three years, click on the links below to watch the videos. Singapore Tourism Review 2005 (4.5 MB, .wmv format) Unique Moments, Unique Year 2004 (7MB, .wmv format) 2003 - Against All Odds (10 MB, .wmv format) The Singapore Tourism Board has an extensive network of offices spanning the globe. Currently, there are 22 Regional Offices and 2 Marketing Representatives spread over eight regions. The ROs undertake the entire range of tourism functions from tourism marketing to investment promotion. They work together with in-market industry partners to promote Singapore to our overseas consumers, facilitate tourism companies in investment plans and business alliances, monitor competitive activities and support the development of bi-/multi-lateral agreements. Head Office Americas Asean (Islands) Asean (Mainland) Europe Greater China North Asia Oceania South Asia, Middle East & Africa

In ancient times Kochi was divided into Hata no Kuni and Tosa no Kuni and ruled by a government official sent from the central government of Yamato Chotei. In 645 the two were united during the Taika no Kaishin. In the legend and history book "Kojiki", Kochi is called Tosa no Kuni Takeyoriwake. Takeyoriwake means brave, strong and superior in martial arts. It can be said that this name fits Kochi well in terms of geography, climate, and the nature of the people. In 934 Tsurayuki Kino returned to Kyoto after completing his duties as the regional government official. On the 56 day cruise back to Kyoto he wrote "Tosa Nikki" (Tosa Diary) in Kana (phonetic letters). Through this diary the name Tosa became known throughout Japan. Long ago when transportation was next to nonexistent, Kochi was also called Onru (banish). Political enemies of the Chotei, and common criminals were exiled to this distant land. In 1192 Tosa came under the administration of the Kamakura Bakufu. This was a time of the rise of the samurai. In 1333 while under the authority of Ichimon Hosokawa, samurai territorial disputes erupted into the period of Warring States. With the death of the Hosokawa administration in 1507, Tosa was freed from outside rule and seven factions competed for the control of Tosa. Chosokabe won the battle and united Tosa as well as the rest of Shikoku. Shortly after, Toyotomi (general and unifier of Japan) reduced his dominion to only Tosa. Toyotomi was later defeated in the Battle of Sekigahara (1600) by Tokugawa and this led to the end of Chosokabe rule. Kazutoyo Yamanouchi, who assisted Tokugawa in winning the battle of Sekigahara, entered Tosa as the Daimyo (feudal lord) of the han (domain) with 240,000 koku (1 koku-4.9 bushels). The Daimyo were ranked in terms of the amount of rice they produced. Kazutoyo Yamanouchi built a new castle between two rivers in present day Kochi City. The castle was called Kochi, and the chinese character spelling meant between two rivers. After being afflicted by a number of water related disasters, the chinese characters were changed to mean high wisdom in an effort to improve the area's luck. The present day meaning and pronunication are the same although the second character has been slightly reformed. During the bakumatsu (end of the shogunate) Tosa produced many great men, such as, Ryoma Sakamoto and Shintaro Nakaoka who contributed to the success of the Meiji Restoration. After the Restoration, Tosa's Taisuke Itagaki and Kenkichi Kataoka took the lead in the "Freedom and People's Rights Movement". It is said that freedom sprang from among the mountains of Tosa. Tosa also boasts of other prominent sons, such as Chomin Nakae, Shosui Kotoku, Yataro Iwasaki, Tomitaro Makino, and Torahiko Terada. Aministratively, in 1871 the han was replaced by the prefecture and Tosa became known as Kochi Prefecture. Incidentally, Awakoku (Tokushima Prefecture) was under the jurisdiction of Kochi Prefecture from 1876 to 1880.

Kushiro Shitsugen Norokko GO is the slowest train that runs from Kushiro to Shibecha. You can enjoy the great view of the Kushiro Marshland from the windows. (Information for Norokko Go) Service Section ～Kushiro JR Station -Shibecha Station (until June 30) Kushiro JR Station-Toro Station (from July 1) Service Period ～April 29 -June 30 (One round trip a day) July 1 ～September 31 (Three round trips a day) Fare ～ Kushiro Shitsugen-\350/adult (from Kushiro) Toro-\530/adult Shibecha-\1,040/adult Contact ～ 0154-24-3176 (Kushiro JR Station) Kushiro Station ～ Kushiro Station Gallery displays oil paintings,and sketches of the marshland by Sasaki Eimatsu. Kushiro Shitsugen Station ～From this station, it takes 10 minutes to walk to Hosooka Marsh Viewpoint. Toro Station　～ Lake Toro is the largest lake in The Kushiro Marsh.Sarubo Observatory and Shibecha Town Folk Museum are nearby. CANOEING Enjoying canoeing on the Kushiro River is one of the best ways to enjoy the atmosphere of the Marsh. You may have the chance to encounter and observe wildlife such as the North Fox, the Japanese Crane and the Ezo beer. For further Information Lakeside Toro TEL ～ 01548-7-2172 R TEL ～0154-37-6080 Takkobu Auto Camp Site TEL　～0154-40-4448 HORSEBACK RIDING Horseback riding deep into the marsh is a good, and very popular, way to feel the atmosphere of the marshland. Even beginners can enjoy horseback riding. An instructor guide will assist you. For further information Tsurui Dosanko Farm ～ Horseback riding from this farm is available to Cape Kirakotan or Cape Miyajima. TEL ～0154-64-2931 Kushiro Fureai Horse Park ～ Casual horseback riding trails are enjoyable within this park. Even beginners can enjoy experiences such as horse drafting, carriage rides and horsback riding. TEL ～0154-56-2566 Yamahana Hot Spring Yamahana Hot Spring “REFRE” is located in Yamahana Park in the west end of the Kushiro Marshland. Hot spring facilities such as an open-air bath, a big bath, and a sauna are available with a refreshing amenity studio. Kushiro-style herbal dishes are served as well. It takes 50 minutes by from Kushiro JR Station. Contact ～0154-56-2233