Crossword Genius

Up earlier than, to see the big tourist attraction (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

etna

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'attraction' is the definition.
(I know that Etna is a attraction)

'up earlier than to see the big tourist' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'the' could be 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects) and 't' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'ena' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for etna that I've seen before include "Volcano in Sicily, quite neat" , "hotly-tipped runner" , "Sicilian landmark" , "Explosive type" , "Volcano; reverse of stake" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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