ICELAND: Icelandic whalers harpooned their sixth minke whale this weekend and the tourist industry said yesterday that the country was facing international disapproval.
"A group of French tourists cancelled a trip with us last week because of the whaling," said Ms Kristin Thrainsdottir, a sales and marketing employee with Iceland Travel.
She said the industry was "worried the whaling will cause us to lose large groups of customers in the future".
Iceland resumed whaling this month after a 14-year break, saying it needed to study the impact of whales on fish stocks vital to its economy.
But the move has pitted whalers against the growing holiday industry, with tourists drawn to its lively night-life, dramatic volcanic scenery and thermal spas.
The International Whaling Commission outlawed commercial hunting of the world's largest mammal in 1986. Iceland stopped in 1989, but whale meat is served in restaurants in Reykjavik.
As well as being dissected for science, the six minkes just caught were butchered for supermarkets, providing further fuel for opponents of whaling.
Tour operators said Iceland's image is suffering.
Mr Knutur Oskarsson, managing director of Destination Iceland, said one group to cancel was a team of photographers and models who were to do a fashion shoot for two international magazines.
"One of the publications sent a cancellation saying it was an environmentally conscious magazine, and couldn't promote a location that supports whaling," he said.
Icelandic Travel Industry Association's Ms Erna Hauksdottir said: "We're not keeping track of how many groups have cancelled their trips, but we're hearing about them all the time."
She hoped tourists would not shun Iceland and noted "the tourist industry is doing its best to fight whaling in Iceland".
A big draw for foreigners is whale-watching, a rapidly growing activity which attracted 62,050 tourists last year versus just 2,200 in 1995. Polls suggest 75 per cent of Icelandic nationals support whaling.