It is also enjoying a boom in tourism, as skittish holidaymakers seek out safe destinations.

ECONOMIST: The region assesses the costs

Just now, for instance, Lebanon is riding a boom in tourism and construction, a sudden balmy spell following years of turbulence.

ECONOMIST: Two writers unpick Lebanon��s complexities

But officials are wary of reading too much into the mini-boom in tourism, noting that to the outside world eastern DR Congo remains "a war zone" and that although there are some signs of positive change, the country is a long way from emulating neighbouring Rwanda's dramatic transformation.

BBC: Mini-boom: DR Congo's volcanic tourism

Many historical sites that have escaped the wrecking ball, however, have suffered from gaudy restorations catering to China's boom in domestic tourism, which can turn remote relics into fairground attractions almost overnight.

WSJ: Ancient Village Rises in Shanghai; The Shock of the Old

No one in the village has seen a single extra peso out of the tourism boom in the area, nor do they expect to, they say.

BBC: Mexico seeks 'end of world' Maya tourism boost

In Jordan, the Khaliji boom has more or less compensated for the 43% fall in European tourism during the confrontation with Iraq last February.

ECONOMIST: Thank Allah for the Gulfies | The

Second, hit by the end of the dotcom boom and tourism-destroying wildfires, Colorado slumped into recession in 2001.

ECONOMIST: Colorado's fiscal dilemma: To cut or not to cut | The

Asia's tourism officials are licking their chops at the expected boom in Chinese travelers throughout the region.

CNN: ASIANOW - TIME Asia | Travel Watch

And with tourism to the region set to boom when Rio de Janeiro hosts the World Cup in 2014 and the Summer Olympics in 2016, we have gathered the need-to-know basics regarding fees and visas for South America.

BBC: New fees for visiting South America