Travel – Page 36

Do they ever get out of Davos?

On March 1 the World Economic Forum (WEF) based in Davos, Switzerland announced its inaugural survey on worldwide travel and competitiveness. Not surprisingly, European countries dominate the list of twenty most competitive nations when it comes to travel and tourism. I would venture to guess that the Swiss-based WEF was a bit biased when it ranked Switzerland at the top of the list. If you’ve ever traveled in Switzerland on a limited budget, you’ll probably remember a few moments when you told yourself, "Why is it so expensive here?" or wonder why it feels so darn sterile. I’m also surprised that the WEF considers the United States the fifth most competitive nation. Considering the U.S.’s size, diversity, and the fact that it beat out usual suspects Sweden, Holland, France, Germany, Italy, among others, the United States could quite possibly be the world’s most competitive nation in terms of travel and tourism if geographic factors are taken into consideration. If you’ve ever stayed in Europe at a budget motel with chipped marble, aged Renaissance-era, faux-baroque furnishings, and corroded pipes, you’ll understand why the average U.S. hotel beats a European hotel any day.

This survey piqued my interest because I wondered where our past destination, Korea, and our future destination, Paraguay, ranked in this survey. They were listed as #42 and #111, respectively. In East Asia, Korea is less competitive than #25 Japan and #30 Taiwan, R.O.C., but it is more competitive than #72 China. The Korea Tourism Organization might agree, because it is constantly wondering how to get more tourists to pay attention to Korea. Surprisingly, China is less competitive than #65 India, which I find hard to believe given India’s infrastructure woes and inadequate lodging options.

In South America, Paraguay finished last in terms of competitiveness in travel and tourism. This is not surprising until one considers that Bolivia (#109) and Guyana (#100) finished ahead of Paraguay. Guyana? In addition, the WEF ranked Tajikistan just ahead of Paraguay (#110). When one considers that the U.S. Department of State’s hardship differential for Paraguay is 10% and 35% for Tajikistan and that Tajikistan’s increased from 25% to 35% in 2006, one must conclude that the WEF’s survey results are inconclusive or that they only apply to short-term tour and travel (hardship differential represents the perceived hardship of a locale relative to life in the United States). Fortunately, the WEF had the common sense not to rank Chad (#124) higher than dead last on its list…at least this year.

We will be on tour in Paraguay, albeit for two years. I was disappointed to see it ranked so low. I feel defensive when it comes to Paraguay, and I’ve never been there. It really can’t be that bad, can it? Sometimes–not always–a tourist destination is what you make it. You can have a good trip or a bad trip depending on your own attitude. Sure, Paraguay might not be on the top of my list of must-see tourist havens, but then again, neither are many of the countries listed ahead of Paraguay. Regardless of what the prognosticators in Davos think as they analyze the world from their ivory towers, sipping their glasses of 1993 Bordeaux Château d’Eau Contraire as they listen to the sounds of yodeling emanating from their sauve Alpine valleys, I’m planning to enjoy the country as much as I possibly can.

For more information on the results of this survey, visit:

http://www.weforum.org/en/media/Latest%20Press%20Releases/Tourismpressrelease.

	Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index
Rank	Country/economy	Score
1	Switzerland	5.66
2	Austria	5.54
3	Germany	5.48
4	Iceland	5.45
5	United States	5.43
6	Hong Kong SAR	5.33
7	Canada	5.31
8	Singapore	5.31
9	Luxembourg	5.31
10	United Kingdom	5.28
11	Denmark	5.27
12	France	5.23
13	Australia	5.21
14	New Zealand	5.20
15	Spain	5.18
16	Finland	5.16
17	Sweden	5.13
18	United Arab Emirates	5.09
19	Netherlands	5.08
20	Cyprus	5.07
21	Belgium	5.07
22	Portugal	5.05
23	Norway	5.04
24	Greece	4.99
25	Japan	4.99
26	Malta	4.96
27	Ireland	4.93
28	Estonia	4.90
29	Barbados	4.86
30	Taiwan, China	4.82
31	Malaysia	4.80
32	Israel	4.80
33	Italy	4.78
34	Tunisia	4.75
35	Czech Republic	4.75
36	Qatar	4.71
37	Slovak Republic	4.68
38	Croatia	4.66
39	Mauritius	4.63
40	Hungary	4.61
41	Costa Rica	4.60
42	Korea, Rep.	4.58
43	Thailand	4.58
44	Slovenia	4.58
45	Chile	4.58
46	Jordan	4.52
47	Bahrain	4.45
48	Jamaica	4.41
49	Mexico	4.38
50	Dominican Republic	4.35
51	Lithuania	4.34
52	Turkey	4.31
53	Latvia	4.31
54	Bulgaria	4.31
55	Panama	4.28
56	Uruguay	4.28
57	Morocco	4.27
58	Egypt	4.24
59	Brazil	4.20
60	Indonesia	4.20
61	Serbia and Montenegro	4.18
62	South Africa	4.18
63	Poland	4.18
64	Argentina	4.18
65	India	4.14
66	Georgia	4.13
67	Kuwait	4.08
68	Russian Federation	4.03
69	Guatemala	4.00
70	Botswana	3.99
71	China	3.97
72	Colombia	3.96
73	Namibia	3.95
74	Armenia	3.93
75	Azerbaijan	3.92
76	Romania	3.91
77	El Salvador	3.90
78	Ukraine	3.89
79	Sri Lanka	3.89
80	Tanzania	3.86
81	Peru	3.86
82	Kazakhstan	3.81
83	Macedonia, FYR	3.81
84	Gambia	3.81
85	Trinidad and Tobago	3.79
86	Philippines	3.79
87	Honduras	3.78
88	Vietnam	3.78
89	Nicaragua	3.76
90	Albania	3.75
91	Mongolia	3.72
92	Mauritania	3.71
93	Algeria	3.67
94	Zambia	3.66
95	Moldova	3.65
96	Cambodia	3.64
97	Ecuador	3.64
98	Kenya	3.62
99	Venezuela	3.62
100	Guyana	3.56
101	Uganda	3.56
102	Kyrgyz Republic	3.54
103	Pakistan	3.52
104	Bosnia and Herzegovina	3.51
105	Mali	3.50
106	Nepal	3.49
107	Zimbabwe	3.48
108	Suriname	3.47
109	Bolivia	3.46
110	Tajikistan	3.46
111	Paraguay	3.44
112	Madagascar	3.44
113	Burkina Faso	3.41
114	Malawi	3.31
115	Nigeria	3.30
116	Benin	3.28
117	Ethiopia	3.26
118	Cameroon	3.25
119	Mozambique	3.23
120	Bangladesh	3.21
121	Lesotho	3.12
122	Angola	2.89
123	Burundi	2.88
124	Chad	2.68

Should we stay or should we go?

Dear Reader, what would you do? Right now, a snowstorm is passing through where we’re staying and heading east. It will dump four to six inches of snow in the lowlands, probably much more on the mountain passes. Between now and 2 p.m. on Saturday we need to travel east to Great Falls, Montana, where a memorial service will be held for my father. We must cross three mountain passes en route to Great Falls. Right now all passes are open, but the storm just began. Click here for a webcam shot of Lookout Pass’ current road conditions. It looks navigatible as I write, but I anticipate that road conditions will worsen over the next 24 hours. It’s possible but not likely that one or more of the passes will be closed or very treacherous (the descent on Lookout Pass can be unnerving when driving in snow). We planned to leave tomorrow morning, but that will be immediately following the storm. The weather is supposed to improve by Saturday.

What would you do? Would you spend 13 hours on a Greyhound bus? Would you buy a plane ticket? Ticket prices start at $741 per ticket. We’re planning to rent a compact car? What will I do? Oh, probably upgrade to a heavier vehicle and press on if the passes aren’t closed. No matter what, it won’t be a fun experience driving during wintertime in Idaho and Montana.