Iceland in global warning
SINGAPORE – Leaders of national tourism organisations in Asia continue to insist that tourism numbers and receipts will hold up in the face of the global financial crisis – now worsening by the day – but it might help them to fine-tune their forecasts by looking at what’s happening in Iceland.
As London’s Daily Telegraph,/i> reports, “Only last November, Iceland’s status as one of the most successful economies in the West was underlined when it was judged the best place to live in the world.
“Iceland had ousted Norway from the head of the UN’s league table of 177 countries that compared per-capita income, education, health care and life expectancy – which, at 80.55 years for males, was third highest in the world.â€
Today Iceland is a country on the verge of going bankrupt.
Says the Daily Telegraph, “No longer smiling, office workers hurry home wondering out loud if they will have jobs to go to by the end of the week.
“Car showrooms are deserted. Estate agents are closing early. There are few takers for the thousands of unsold houses on their books.
“An unexpected cold spell is keeping many people inside their homes, another reason why the shops, many of which have discount sales, are quiet.â€
And it’s not just Iceland that is reeling. European Union finance ministers are to meet in Luxembourg for emergency talks on the world’s financial meltdown.
The ministers from all 27 member states hope to bolster money markets after a day of panic saw huge share index losses in Germany, France and the UK.
Russia has been forced to periodically close its stock exchange to discourage selling by share investors who have seen the value of their stocks plummet.
Big spending Russians have been welcomed around the world as high-yield tourists but even their spending power is likely to be severely diminished over the next few months.
The tourism industry is entering unchartered territory – and, as ever, it will be those who have not built their castles on straw and shifting sand who will come out the other end in the best shape.
Ian Jarrett
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