Tourists are turning their backs on Iceland because the country is resuming commercial whaling, a tour operator claims. Whale watching is one of Iceland’s main tourist attractions, but bookings have fallen 25 per cent in the two weeks since it has resumed hunting.

Yesterday Alp Mehmet, the British ambassador to Iceland, led a delegation of 25 ambassadors from anti-whaling nations to deliver a “strongly worded” letter to the country’s Foreign Affairs Ministry.

The letter urged an immediate end to the whaling, saying: “We repeat our countries’ opposition to this operation and urge the Government of Iceland to reconsider its position and reverse this unnecessary decision, and to abandon its current operations.”

Ben Bradshaw, Britain’s Fisheries Minister, said after the protest: “This united action shows the depth of feeling and concern not only in Britain but all over the world about this cruel and abhorrent activity.

“Today’s protest leaves Iceland in no doubt about the strength of feeling against its decision to sidestep an international agreement to stop the killing of whales. It has done great damage to its reputation and image.”

Among the countries to sign the letter were the United States, France, Germany, Finland, Sweden, New Zealand, Australia and Argentina. The European Union also signed.

Tourists have reacted angrily to Iceland’s decision to slaughter nine fin whales, classified as endangered by International Union for the Conservation of Nature, and 30 minke whales.

Dozens have cancelled their holidays in the past fortnight but the real impact is expected to be felt next year.

Tourist numbers in Iceland reached record 400,000 this year, 89,000 of whom went whale watching.

Clive Stacey, of Discover the World, one of the biggest operators of tours to Iceland, said that his company organised trips for 7,000 Britons this year, but that in the past fortnight bookings for next year had dropped 25 per cent. The company had expected that bookings would increase by 50-100 per cent.

“We’ve had a few people write to cancel and the level of interest in booking holidays to Iceland has dropped. It’s now about 25 per cent down,” he said. “There have to be reasons for this. The most obvious is that people are reacting to the whaling. We are very concerned about what’s going on.”

Discover the World estimates that its customers put £15 million into the Icelandic economy. ()

Fin whales are worth about £95,000 each to the whalers, and minke whales £7,000 each, meaning that Iceland’s whalers will make little more than £1 million this year. Conservationists remain perplexed by the decision to resume whaling because the market for whale meat is poor.

Sarah Duthie, a member of Greenpeace, said that whale meat was already being stockpiled because so few people wanted to eat it.

Leah Garcés, of the World Society for the Protection of Animals, said that fin whales, which are usually 50-80 tonnes when caught, each yielded about 20 tonnes of meat, which was priced at about £2.10 per lb. Of Iceland’s 300,000 people only 42,000 are estimated to eat whale meat.

Sverrir Haukur Gunnlaugsson, the Icelandic ambassador to London, said yesterday that his country had an “unalienable right” to hunt whales, which are regarded as one of the country’s few natural resources. He denied that fin whales were endangered in the North Atlantic and maintained that whaling was not in breach of international law.

Whaling, he promised, would be carried out in a sustainable manner. He pointed out that Iceland had a far better record on sustainable fishing than the EU members that had signed the protest letter.

“The point is, Iceland has the right to use its resources. We believe that we have this unalienable right,” Mr Gunnlaugsson said.

• Environmentalists are trying to buy a fin whale from hunters before it is harpooned.

  The World Society for the Protection of Animals wants to buy freedom for the whale by raising £95,000 in donations on eBay. The amount is based on the price of whale meat.

  Leah Garcés, of the society, did not believe that the whalers would accept the offer. “We think they are attempting to hold a position rather than doing anything logical,” she said.

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