Islamic fundamentalists attacked buildings at Pakistan’s Malam Jabba ski resort last week. Pakistan’s only international standard resort is located in the Swat Valley, 300k m (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.
CNN reports that the Islamic militants, who wish to establish fundamentalist Sharia Islamic law, forced their way in to the hotel, looted it and then set it on fire, causing what local police described as “Significant damage.”
The ski area was originally built in 1988 in cooperation with Austrian specialists. It remained ‘mothballed’ for a decade before finally being opening by Pakistan’s president in the late 1990s. It is equipped with two chair lifts, a hotel, restaurants and a coffee shop.
Massive early snowfalls and excellent Easter conditions provided a solid white base for the best ever winter season in Austria. For the first time the country welcomed more than 10 Million winter guests from abroad, of which 491,700 came from Great Britain.
In comparison to the previous winter this represents an increase of 2.7%. Arrivals from the Irish Republic have increased by 11.4% to 56,200.
Looking back on a record-breaking winter, Oskar Hinteregger, director of the Austrian National Tourist Office, London, commented,
Winter 07/08 was a compact season that provided excellent occupancy levels from mid-December to the end of April, predominately due to the early Easter date. Austria’s 263 cable car companies invested more than 530 Million Euros (760 million dollars) lift upgrades - and snowmaking equipment, pistes and infrastructure. A similar amount is earmarked in order to guarantee improvements in the overall convenience of a ski holiday. Bespoke services, online equipment hire, easy airport transfers, heated lifts, doorstep skiing and sustainable mountain and resort management are what guests demand. Austria is well positioned to satisfy these demands and forward bookings have reached unprecedented levels. All tour operators and most airlines are already accepting bookings until the end of next season.”