While the lava pours out, tourism money pours in

ALTHOUGH the volcano is causing chaos elsewhere, such natural disasters may be Iceland’s saviour, as the country experiences an unexpected tourism boom.

Crowned the “best-value destination for 2010” by Lonely Planet guidebooks, thousands of tourists have flocked to the land of ice and fire this year, drawn by volcanoes, whale safaris, geo-thermal spas and a favourable exchange rate.

Mother Nature appears to be working to bring the country back to prosperity. An earlier, minor volcanic eruption close to the current one has turned a previously deserted part of the country into a major attraction, with visitors flocking to catch a glimpse of the still gushing lava.

“I hope the eruption continues for a while since it’s very good for business,” said Ingi Thor Jakobsson, who manages a hotel near the Eyjafjallajokull glacier, where the Fimmvorduhals volcano erupted on March 21.

Within hours of the first reports of the eruption, volcano enthusiasts from across Europe were booking tailor-made tours. A private jet with a party of 23 on board landed from America.

“I came as soon as I could get time off work and it has cost a fortune, but it is worth every penny,” said Michel de Reus from Rotterdam, as fountains of liquid rock were thrown 100 metres into the sky. He had driven straight from the airport.

Icelandic chefs also cooked a dinner of lobster on the lava and served it with champagne to gourmet tourists who paid €350 for the dinner and helicopter trip.

Last week, James May, Top Gear presenter, set the tyres of his off-road vehicle on fire while filming a stunt for the television programme that involved driving on lava that was cooling. A spokeswoman for the BBC denied reports that he was rebuked afterwards by Icelandic police.

The Fimmvorduhals volcano, in the midst of some of Iceland’s highest and wildest mountains, is a breathtaking sight. Helicopter flights over the crater reveal a river of lava, with waterfalls of molten rock pouring down the mountainside. Police estimate that about 100,000 people have visited the site.