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As The World Turns: Lava Flows, Extremists Strike, Americans Travel
By Craig Altschul
July 14, 2008
The world is turning in strange ways, reports IR Associate Editor Patrick Thorne from his base in Scotland. Llaima ski area in Chile's Conguillio National Park was evacuated last week as the volcano on which the ski area is located spewed out lava flows up to two kilometers long above the ski runs and lifts.
The 3,125 metre high volcano is 78km (49 miles) from regional capital Temuco and 700km (435 miles) south of Santiago, Chile's capital. The area's two drag lifts service five ski runs between 1,500m and 1,800m above sea level.
The current eruption began on New Year's Day and the last few people still staying in the area were evacuated to outside a 15km exclusion zone last week.
The biggest fear is that the heat of the lava will melt snow causing landslides and flash floods below.
Meanwhile, in news not generally connected to the mountain resort world, Islamic fundamentalists attacked buildings at Pakistan's Malam Jabba ski resort. Pakistan's only international standard resort is located in the Swat Valley, 300km (190 miles) from capital Islamabad, and close to the Afghan border. The region was once the country's leading summer tourist destinations due to its great natural beauty.
Islamic militants, apparently wishing to establish fundamentalist Sharia Islamic law, forced their way in to the hotel, looted it, and then set it ablaze.
The ski area was originally built in 1988 in cooperation with Austrian specialists. It remained mothballed for a decade before finally being opened by Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf in the late 1990s. It is equipped with two chair lifts, a hotel, restaurants, and a coffee shop, Thorne reports.
In other international news, it appears the slumped U.S. dollar is not stopping Americans from vacationing around the globe in record numbers. A record 64 million U.S. residents traveled abroad during 2007, up from 63.6 million the previous year. The stats come from a new report released by the U.S. Department of Commerce Office of Travel and Tourism Industries and represent the fourth consecutive record travel year.
Spending by Americans appreciated, too, up by five percent. The top ski regions for U.S. travelers to spend their abused dollars, however, were Canada, Germany, and Italy. The top regions overall for U.S. travelers were Mexico, U.K., Canada, Germany, and Japan.
The increase in skier numbers in the United States during the in 2007-08 season, to turn the story upside down, came largely from international visitors to this country.
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