JOTTINGS IN A JOURNAL: VEGAS TO HOST WORLD CUP OF PRO BOWLING.

Byline: - Staff and Wire Services

The high rollers will descend on Las Vegas in early October.

But these won't be the conventional ones - they'll be professional bowlers.

The AMF Bowling World Cup, an international bowling championship, will be held Oct. 3-9 at Sam's Town Bowling Center. The bowling center and Sam's Town Hotel (headquarters for the event) are just off the strip at the corner of Boulder Highway and Flamingo Road.

This marks the AMF World Cup's return to the United States after an 18-year absence. Competitors are expected from more than 80 countries.

American tourists go on buying binge

Shop-till-you drop tourists from the United States spent more than $300 million in Europe and Singapore during 1998, a 28 percent increase over the previous year, according to a report by Global Refund of Stamford, a group that provides overseas travelers with a means of reclaiming value added tax.

Women's clothes led the list of purchases. More than 80 percent of the clothes shopping was done in France or Italy.

Japanese tourists topped the American big spenders by buying $500 million worth of goodies - mostly women's wear, leather and furs.

Visitors to Mexico will be charged fee

Starting July 1, Mexico will begin charging foreign tourists 150 pesos, about $16 at recent exchange rates, to enter the country.

Tourists arriving by air or on land will be subject to the entry fee. But tourists who declare that they intend to stay within 15.5 miles of the border and passengers from cruise ships who stay in Mexico less than 72 hours will not be charged.

Travel agents say that the fee is unlikely to discourage tourists planning lengthy trips to Mexican beach resorts or to colonial cities. Those visitors expect to spend hundreds of dollars on their vacations.

But people traveling to Mexico on modest budgets, including thousands of Mexican-American families who travel by car or bus from border states to cities in northern Mexico to visit relatives, could feel the squeeze.

New hotel built near POW prison

The Hilton Hanoi Opera hotel has opened a few blocks from Hoa Lo, the infamous ``Hanoi Hilton'' where American prisoners were held during the Vietnam War.

The few remaining cells of the prison have been preserved as a museum.

The seven-story classical facade of the new hotel resembles its more immediate neighbor, the newly restored 1911 French colonial Hanoi Opera House.

The neighborhood is within walking distance of the city's central business district. Guest rooms, furnished with lacquered cabinets and Vietnamese art, have individually controlled air-conditioning, data ports and television with international channels.

Vacation planner from Down Under

Prospective travelers to Australia can get the new 80-page Australia Vacation Planner by calling [phone].

The planner has sections on travel tips, lodging, states and territories, a calendar of events, tour operators, and a primer on the Sydney Olympics, scheduled Sept. 15-Oct. 1, 2000.

Newport Festival announces lineup

Acts signed for the annual jazz and folk festivals in Newport, R.I., include Suzanne Vega, Manhattan Transfer and Branford Marsalis.

The folk festival, during which musical tastes range from pop to country rock, from Aug. 6-8. The jazz festival will be the following weekend.

At the JVC Jazz Festival, other acts will include Harry Connick Jr., pianist McCoy Tyner, Diana Krall and sax player Joshua Redman.

At the Ben and Jerry's Folk Festival, Joan Armatrading, Wilco, the Indigo Girls and Ladysmith Black Mambazo will take the stage along with Vega. It will be the eighth time in nine years the Indigo Girls have performed at the festival.