Winners and Losers in the Middle East war for Hotel Profits

Deloitte & Touche's unique survey of the Middle Eastern and African hotel market - encompassing results from almost 80,000 hotel rooms - shows a region of contrasting fortunes in the year to November 2002.

Several cities report considerable growth on last year - led by Beirut where revPAR at the hotels sampled are recorded up almost 20 percent, driven by 13 percent growth in volume and six percent growth in average rate. Other cities to experience revPAR growth include Kuwait (up 10 percent) and both Riyadh and Manama (up nine percent). No doubt some of this growth, which in main is volume driven, comes from activity related to the military build-up in the area. Indeed, it is surprising to note that in Kuwait, known for its unique approach to room rate pricing, the average rate has actually dropped despite 14 percent growth in demand. But, and its a big but, this decline takes average rates down from sky high US$183 to US$177, a price that is comfortably the highest in the region.

The other city to enjoy strong growth in revPAR is Makkah where results to end of November (still in the Ramadan fasting period) were 11 percent higher than last year. Interestingly, there appears to have been a much higher number of religious visitors this year - occupancies in this city have reached 48 percent year-to-date compared to 43 percent last year.

But in other parts of the Middle East the picture is of yet lower revPARs.

The worst performing market in the year-to-November 2002 is west of Cairo at the Pyramids where average rates have collapsed 45 percent in US dollar terms (and 36 percent in Egyptian Pound terms). The price war in the area has had little impact on volumes which are up to just 59 percent from 56 percent, so these hoteliers are looking at a price for this war of revPARs down almost 42 percent. Perhaps it need not have been so bad - hotels in other parts of Cairo have taken a small diminution in volume but held the rate declines to about 17 percent. Bad, but not the carnage at the Pyramids.

Further south in Egypt, the picture is little better than at the Pyramids; hotels in Luxor report revPARs down 37 percent. The hotels in this city report the lowest revPARs of the region at just US$14 year-to-date.

Compare this, dear reader, to the success of Jumeirah Beach as a destination; revPARs in this location are US$111 year-to-date (the highest in the region), and this on the back of occupancies that have climbed again this year to just short of 80 percent. Indeed, Dubai enjoys easily the highest occupancies in the region at 78 percent. Can the enfeebled Egyptian hotel industry ever expect to regain share against such a strong competitor
- only time will tell?

Hong Kong visitor arrivals rise 20.7 percent in 2002 


AFP - Hong Kong's visitor arrivals in 2002 rose 20.7 percent from the year before to a record 16.57 million, boosted by visitors from mainland China, the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) said Friday.

All markets recorded positive growth in 2002 and all are now back to levels before the September 11, 2001 terror attacks in the United States, the HKTB said.

For 2003, the HKTB is forecasting further growth of 8.4 percent to 17.96 million tourist arrivals. This will include 7.86 million arrivals from China, an increase of 15.2 percent year-on-year, it said.

China accounted for 41.2 percent of all arrivals, reaching 6.83 million in total in 2002, up 53.4 percent year-on-year.

Taiwan remained Hong Kong's second largest source of visitors with 2.43 million arrivals, a modest 0.4 percent growth in a difficult year for the Taiwan economy.

South and Southeast Asia was third, with arrivals in 2002 growing 9.1 percent to 1.91 million, followed by North Asia, which was up 5.1 percent at 1.85 million.

Next were the Americas, up 7.0 percent at 1.35 million, Europe, Africa and the Middle East, up 7.8 percent at 1.26 million, and Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific, up 6.1 percent at 410,000.

In December, a total of 1.67 million visitors arrived in Hong Kong, breaking the previous monthly record of 1.58 million set just two months earlier.

Most December arrivals were from China, rising 64.7 percent to 753,974 -- a new high for the third consecutive month.

Hotel occupancy rates stood at 89 percent in December, compared with 84 percent in December 2001. For 2002, occupancy averaged 84 percent, against 79 percent previously.

Active Hotels signs new deal with French Hotel Chain Citôtel

Cambridge-based Active Hotels, a leading provider of online reservations to the European hotel industry, has just become an approved on-line reservation provider for large French hotel group Citôtel.  The Citôtel group has an extensive network of 141 independent hotels in prime locations across France.  This new deal comes at the end of a very successful year for Active Hotels in France, having signed up a number of high-profile French hotel groups to its online reservation system since targeting the French market in 2002.    

Active Hotels’ head of sales Dan Smith sees the agreement as a positive indication of the company’s ability to compete effectively on the European hotel market.  “We continue to operate successfully in the European travel market.  This deal with Citôtel is a significant boost to our international campaign.  We, at Active Hotels are very excited about working with the Citôtel hotel group.  I believe that we will make a significant contribution to Citôtel online reservation figures.  Looking forward, we will be hoping to build on the relationship we have already established to become the group’s preferred online reservation provider.”

All Citôtel hotels have been carefully selected to provide good value, quality accommodation in many of France’s main cities.  Each hotel has its own style and character and is located to enable visitors to appreciate the best that France has to offer.  Herve Lasbouygues, Administrator for Citôtel, comments, “I am confident that working with Active Hotels will increase our online visibility and deliver more reservations.  Active Hotels’ online reservation system provides a competitive and reliable service that is easy to use.  Active Hotels provides our network of hotels with increased visibility and opens up an entirely new distribution channel for our rooms.”

About Active Hotels: www.activehotels.com

Active Hotels is one of the fastest growing online reservation providers in Europe.  Launched in Cambridge, England in 1998 by CEO Andrew Phillips and Business Development Director Adrian Critchlow with a team of just five employees, Active Hotels now has over 35 talented people working under a strong and experienced management team. 

Active Hotels has the largest collection of hotels in the United Kingdom, an impressive selection of properties in France and Ireland, in addition to a growing network of quality hotels across Europe, all of which can be booked in real time.  These properties are made available to a global audience via a unique and extensive distribution network. 

With over a million users currently visiting Active Hotels’ properties every month, new booking records are being broken on a daily basis.  Active Hotels aims to bring its hotels and distribution partners to the forefront of the European online reservation market by providing user-friendly online management solutions that are responsive to the needs of customers and the demands of the online travel market.  

Hong Kong commissions global consumer attitude survey 

TTG Asia  -  Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) has commissioned a worldwide survey by consultancy firm Pannel Kerr Forster (PKF) to see what tourists think about the SAR. The results will guide the tourism marketing body in its efforts to lure global visitors.

Consumers worldwide are the main target of PKF’s research, says HKTB executive director Clara Chong. She said: “But to make sure that we do the job thoroughly and get a comprehensive study from different perspectives, we also feel it important to canvass the views of many others.”

These will include travel agents, airlines, hotel owners and operators and other key trade stakeholders locally and overseas who are active in promoting Hong Kong to consumers and in the front line of customer feedback. Ms Chong said: “We want to assess consumer attitudes and perceptions of Hong Kong as a destination for formulating our future global marketing strategies.”

She added the local hotel industry was a small but nevertheless important part of the equation. Hence, HKTB had asked the consultants to query every chairman of Hong Kong-based hotel companies. “Their participation and support are critical elements for our future success,” she said.

Results of the survey are expected later in the year.

Hotel Industry Veteran, James P. Evans Named CEO Jenny Craig

(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 22, 2003--Jenny Craig, Inc., one of the world's largest weight-management companies, announced today the appointment of James P. Evans, a hotel industry veteran, as Chief Executive Officer.

Mr. Evans was previously President and Chief Executive Officer of Best Western International, Inc., which is the WORLD'S LARGEST HOTEL CHAIN(R)with more than 4,000 independently owned and operated hotels and motels in 80 countries. Prior to joining Best Western, Mr. Evans served as Executive Vice President of Operations of Doubletree, and in numerous executive roles at Hyatt and Sheraton.

"Jim's professional experience and commitment to employees, customer service and marketing complement Jenny Craig's dedication to and passion for helping people lose weight and maintain their weight loss," said Kent Q. Kreh, Chairman of the Board, Jenny Craig, Inc. "We're pleased to have Jim join our executive team."

Mr. Evans joins the Jenny Craig executive team consisting of Kent Q. Kreh, Chairman of the Board; Patricia Larchet, President and Chief Operating Officer; and James Kelly, Chief Financial Officer.

"Joining a company like Jenny Craig is such an exciting opportunity for me," said Mr. Evans. "Working with the executive team, I look forward to expanding and improving an already-great company that has held a leading position in the weight-loss industry for 20 years."

Mr. Evans has held numerous positions in the hospitality industry, ranging from property level marketing, sales and management positions to senior corporate staff positions. In 1991, Business Travel News named him one of the 25 Most Influential Executives in the Travel Industry. A native of Mattoon, Ill., Mr. Evans graduated from Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, Ill., with a Bachelor of Science degree in business.

Australia: Tourists Reveal Change Of Heart
 
Financial Review  -  International tourist arrivals jumped 16 per cent in November, led by a resurgence in key Asian markets, but inbound tourist numbers for the full year were disappointing.

According to Australian Bureau of Statistics data issued on Thursday, Japanese arrivals rose 56 per cent for the month, compared with the previous year.

Chinese tourist numbers increased 44 per cent, US arrivals rose 15 per cent and British visitors were up 17 per cent.

However, tourism industry leaders said that while Australia was starting to make up lost ground, the increased numbers belied an overall flat performance for the sector over the past two years.

"We are down 1 per cent year to date and that is two years of flat performance in this industry," Australian Tourist Commission managing director Ken Boundy said.

It was important to note that the Japanese market was strengthening. For the first 11 months of 2002, numbers were up 4per cent.

"This confirms we are taking market share from our competitors," Mr Boundy said.

Australian Tourism Export Council managing director Peter Shelley said the data showed Australia was basically back to the same arrivals as in November 2000.

The ABS figures come as new research reveals that Europe is beating Australia in attracting the lucrative Japanese honeymoon market.

On Queensland's Gold Coast once a mecca for Japanese honeymooners numbers have fallen off in recent years as other countries target the market.

New research on the market by tour operator JTB Inc shows that despite the poor Japanese economy, the average couple spends $ US4383 ($ 7470), a 13 per cent rise on 2001.

"This is the first such increase in the last 12 years," JTB said.

Hawaii attracts 28 per cent of couples, while Europe lures 18 per cent of honeymooners.

"Australia has fallen from second to third place, (attracting) 16.8 per cent," JTB said.

In response to the Japanese downturn, Australia is actively targeting the US honeymoon market.

A plan to boost flagging US arrivals involves a multimillion-dollar print and electronic advertising campaign that features a heart-shaped island paradise on the Great Barrier Reef.

Named Heart Reef, the exotic locale features in the "Follow Your Heart Downunder" campaign, which targets honeymooners and is being run in conjunction with the ATC, Tourism Queensland and Qantas.

ASIAN RECOVERY
Visitor arrivals for Nov 2002 compared with Nov 2001
Japan 56%
China 45%
Korea 36%
Malaysia 23%
Singapore 13%
USA 15%
New Zealand 5%
Total 16.2%

Source: ABS

Hilton’s 4th Quarter/Year-End ‘02 Earnings And Conference Call

(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 22, 2003--Hilton Hotels Corporation (NYSE:HLT) has scheduled Monday, January 27, 2003, for the release of the company's fourth quarter/year-end 2002 financial results and conference call.

The results will be issued prior to the opening of the market on January 27, with a conference call to follow that day at 12 p.m. Eastern time (9 a.m. Pacific). The dial-in numbers are 888-559-9816 (domestic)/617-801-9702 (international), passcode #275972.

Forward-looking statements and other material information concerning anticipated future events and expectations may be discussed on this conference call.

The conference call will also be webcast simultaneously via Hilton's investor relations website. Investors wishing to access the call on the web should log on to www.hiltonworldwide.com , click the investor relations tab and click on the quarterly conference call link.

A replay of the call will be available by telephone until January 31 at 8 p.m. Eastern (5 p.m. Pacific). To access, dial 888-286-8010 (domestic)/617-801-6888 (international), passcode #275972. Additionally, a replay will be available indefinitely on Hiltonworldwide.com .

Park Inn Opens First Hotel In Europe - Park Inn Berlin 

Park Hospitality, parent organization of Park Inn hotels, today announced that the brand has added the first Park Inn property in Europe.

The 982-room Park Inn Berlin - Alexanderplatz, formerly the Forum Hotel, is located on the historic Alexanderplatz and within short walking distance to well-known landmarks such as the Dome, "Under the Linden Trees Boulevard", the Brandenburg Gate and Nikolai Quarter.

Jetse Pottinga, executive vice president of Park Hospitality, said the addition of this hotel is a major milestone in the global growth of Park Inn hotels.

"We are excited to welcome our first Park Inn hotel in Europe--especially in this key location in Berlin. Introducing Park Inn hotels in Berlin by adding a landmark hotel, is a great advancement of our strategy to grow the brand in Europe and around the globe," he added. The new Berlin hotel is the first Park Inn development in Europe which has resulted from a new expanded partnership between Minneapolis-based Carlson Hotels Worldwide and Rezidor SAS Hospitality which was announced in late 2002 Under the new partnership, Rezidor has been given rights to grow the Park Inn brand in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

"This hotel in the new capital of Germany is a great beginning for this international mid-tier hospitality brand in Europe, which currently has over 50 hotels in North America and Asia Pacific," said Kurt Ritter, president and CEO of Rezidor SAS Hospitality, master franchisor for Park Inn hotels in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. "I am pleased to announce this first Park Inn hotel just three months after concluding our master franchise agreement for this brand with Carlson Hotels Worldwide."

Noted as the tallest hotel in Berlin, the 37-story Park Inn Berlin Alexanderplatz offers superior rooms, including 12 suites, with magnificent views over the entire city. Amenities include two restaurants, a bar, a Casino on the top floor, eight meeting rooms for up to 320 people, a wellness center and business center.

Abu Dhabi Grand’s general manager says tourism leaders must act

Francesco Borrello, general manager of the Abu Dhabi Grand, has urged tourism and hospitality leaders in the capital to group together to promote Abu Dhabi, both regionally and internationally.

Borrello said: “I believe that a cluster marketing strategy of Abu Dhabi as a destination is the way forward this year. Intra-Arabian travel is one of our biggest growth markets, and with the eyes of the world on the region at present, it is time to act positively.”

An integrated Abu Dhabi marketing machine will inevitably bring comparisons with Dubai, he said. “Just as Abu Dhabi is a totally different animal to Dubai, so our approach to developing in-bound business, least not tourism, has to be different. But we can learn lessons from the success of the “Dubai Inc” integrated campaign.

“The capital’s infrastructure is ready, after measured growth in terms of airport development, road construction and landscaping, and now hotels, conference centres, malls and parks. Now is the time for thee tourism industry in Abu Dhabi to pull together to take the city’s name farther afield and into a wider consciousness.”

Abu Dhabi Grand, which will be rebranded as Le Royal Meridien Abu Dhabi this year, is already involved in a regional communications strategy through the Le Meridien brand.

The general managers of the group’s seven properties in the UAE will undertake a GCC marketing drive in February, designed to highlight the group’s offering in the Emirates.

“Cross-selling initiatives are essential for the continued success of the Le Meridien brand – which is one of the strongest international flags in the region – and serve to give strength to our collective brand promise,” said Borrello.

“Likewise, Abu Dhabi as a destination deserves a marketing thrust that carries the full weight of the tourism and hospitality sector here

Iberostar to invest US$ 300m in Bahia 

Gazeta Mercantil -  Spanish group Iberostar, from Palma de Majorca and with hotels in 28 countries, has chosen the northeastern state of Bahia to build its biggest project in Brazil. The chairman of the group, Miguel Fluxa, is in the state capital of Salvador this week to announce an investment of US$ 300 million to build a resort in Praia do Forte, on the Costa dos Coqueiros coastline, some 78 kilometers from the capital.  

Best Western Flags First Hotel In Bulgaria 

THE WORLD’S LARGEST HOTEL CHAIN®, Best Western International announces the addition of their first hotel in Bulgaria. The Best Western City Hotel is a brand new, four-star property located in the capital city Sofia.

The hotel is ideally located in Sofia’s business district and just a few meters away from nearby attractions such as the St. Alexander Nevski Church, the national assembly, the presidency and assembly buildings and the opera house.

Hotel amenities include 36 elegantly appointed guest rooms, satellite television, mini-bar, Internet access and in-room safes. Guests may also utilize the hotel’s onsite restaurant, meeting space, sauna, massage service, hairdresser and laundry facilities.

“We are excited to welcome the Best Western City Hotel,” says Suzi MacDonald Yoder, vice president, International Operations for Best Western International. “The hotel is a fantastic addition to our brand and is an ideal choice for our first development venture in Bulgaria.”

In addition, the hotel will benefit from a worldwide, toll-free reservations system, online bookings, national advertising, marketing, quality assurance standards, public relations and BestRequests®.

Room rates at the hotel begin at 90 Euro for a single, 120 Euro for a double, 140 Euro for a suite and luxury suites at 160 Euro.

Reservations may be booked by calling the hotel directly at 359 2 915 1500.

Best Western International is THE WORLD’S LARGEST HOTEL CHAIN® with more than 4,000 hotels in 80 countries and territories. It is a membership association of independently owned and operated hotels that provides marketing, reservations and operational support to its members.

ASEAN ministers meet to promote tourism in region

(Xinhuanet) -- Ministers from 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) solved Friday a number of key issues to promote tourism in the region.

Three statements were released announcing measures or policy on how to promote the tourism sector among ASEAN members.

Veng Sereyvuth, Cambodia's tourism minister who chaired the sixth meeting of ASEAN Tourism Ministers, said the meeting endorsed initiative to implement the Visit ASEAN Campaign (VAC) program with primary focus on Intra-ASEAN Travel and ASEAN as a single destination.

It also made commitment to having closer cooperation between ASEAN nations and its three partners: China, Japan and South Korea.

According to a declaration released after the meeting, an ASEAN Web site will be created to provide precise and timely informationon tourism safety and security. "This tourism safety webpage will provide the official information on safety and security for publicand private, media as well as foreign governments," the declaration said.

Participants of meeting agreed to strengthen information sharing network among ASEAN members and between ASEAN and China, Japan, South Korea and other countries. They also pledged to implement visa exemption for ASEAN nationals traveling within the region by year 2005 in close coordination with relevant agencies.

Veng Sereyvuth said ASEAN with 500 million people is a big tourist destination that should challenge tourism industry of Europe and the United States.

The next meeting will be held during the ASEAN Tourism Forum inVientiane, Laos on Jan. 23, 2004.  

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam.　　

No, not a ski resort - it's the south pole

The Guardian  -  First there were the huts, then a gift shop, now they're building a road to the south pole. Is this the beginning of the end for the last great wilderness?

'Great God! This is an awful place," wrote Captain Robert Falcon Scott when he reached the south pole on January 17 1912. Tom Avery, a 27-year-old finance director with a ski company, had a similar reaction when he reached the pole at the end of December last year. But it wasn't the cold and isolation that chilled him; it was the gift shop.

"We had walked 700 miles and from 12 miles away we could see the big American base at the pole," he says. "When we got there, we found a gift shop, which had a sale and was selling half-price 'I reached the south pole' T-shirts."

Old Harrovian Avery, who has revered Scott and fellow explorer Ernest Shackleton since he was eight, wasn't buying, not even at knockdown, new-year prices. Nor was he too impressed by the insignia at the pole itself: a plaque commemorating the race between Scott and the Norwegian Roald Amundsen (the latter won and the former lost his life on the way back to base) and a large stars and stripes marking the fact that the US now controls the south pole and is building a new base there.

This week it emerged that the US is also planning a 900-mile road, linking the pole with the town of McMurdo on the coast. That prospect worries those who see Antarctica as the last great wilderness. "With the road will come tourism and pollution," says the Green party's international spokesman, John Norris. "That would destroy much of the value of Antarctica as a research facility. It is the one continent that hasn't had human activity and to lose that for the sake of affluent tourists is not a very good bargain."

At present, such fears are overdone - this will not be a road in any conventional sense. It will be made not of tarmac but of snow and ice, and will be usable for only 100 days a year. "It wouldn't be for lorries," says Dr Karl Erb, head of the US Antarctic programme. "It would be more like a train - 10 or so coaches pulled by a purpose-built tractor." He says that because it would still take 10 days to reach the pole and there will be no stopovers - the coaches will have self-contained cooking, sleeping and sanitary facilities - there will be no encouragement for either tourism or construction.

Erb insists that the US has no interest in developing tourism. "We tread a fine line as far as tourists are concerned," he says. "We don't say 'y'all come', but if they do turn up we offer them a coffee and a shower." There is no hostel at the base - exhausted trekkers have to sleep in their tents.

There is, however, already an easier way to get to the pole - by planes on skis. Avery is dismissive of those who take the easy option. "People pay $25,000 [£15,400] to fly to the pole just to say they've been there," he says. "They are there for about four hours and spend most of the time in the gift shop."

The high-rollers and trekkers are just the tip of the iceberg. It is estimated that 20,000 tourists a year now visit Antarctica - mainly people taking cruises around the coastline. "I was at our base at Rothera recently," says David Blake, head of technical services with the British Antarctic Survey, "and an icebreaker called the Klebnikov appeared. It was on a 66-day circumnavigation of Antarctica and each of the passengers - Americans, Britons, Australians, Chinese - was paying £800 a day."

Blake says that the tour was behaving responsibly - passengers were disinfected when they came ashore to avoid contaminating land or wildlife - but doubts whether the continent can cope with mass tourism. "God forbid," he says. "That would be the end of the tight controls in place at the moment. Our commitment is to keep it as a wilderness; we want the tourists kept at bay." And, ideally, in the bay.

Blake does not condemn the road out of hand, however, pointing out that it would at least reduce the environmental damage caused by the aircraft currently flying between McMurdo and the pole. Avery is less sanguine: attached to the romantic legacy of Scott, he imagines some future party trekking across the wilderness and suddenly seeing a lorry (probably operated by Eddie Stobart) go past. "If you're on a polar expedition and a truck rumbles past, it's going to be a bit of a letdown," he says with Scott-like understatement. "At the very least, I hope they don't use the Beardmore route, which was the one followed by Scott and Shackleton. There are other glaciers through the mountains which a road could follow."

When Avery reached the pole, he was the youngest person to get there on foot, following a 45-day, 700-mile trek. In interviews, Avery's father praised his son's "stiff upper lip" - a lip that was extremely stiff since he was suffering from frostbite. But it would have been understandable if it had quivered a little when his record was broken five days later - by 23-year-old Andrew Cooney, a scout leader and territorial army officer. "I hold a Duke of Edinburgh gold award, but I was looking for something bigger," said Cooney endearingly when he reached the pole. He also commented on Antarctica's remarkable whiteness.

"The record was a bit of a nonsense really," says Avery bravely. "The real reason for doing it was to commemorate the expedition by Scott and Shackleton in 1902. We were celebrating their achievement in almost getting there." Scott was his boyhood hero - famed for not quite being the first man to reach the south pole. Amundsen got there ahead of him on December 14 1911 and lived to tell the tale; Scott reached the pole a month later and didn't, though he left a heart-rending diary to inspire later generations.

The pathos of Scott's final diary entry has echoed down the years: "I do not think we can hope for any better things now. We shall stick it out to the end, but we are getting weaker, of course, and the end cannot be far. It seems a pity, but I do not think I can write more." No wonder schoolboys wanted to retrace his frostbitten steps.

The contrast between exploration then (isolation, individual endeavour, likely death) and now (corporate sponsorship, likely appearances on 24-hour news programmes, cellphones) is, of course, stark. So much so that even Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Britain's best-known explorer, says that there is now nothing left to explore except space.

Sara Wheeler, who has written widely on the Antarctic, has no time for modern-day adventuring. "I find it a bit of a yawn," she says, "seeing how dead you can get, skiing down a crevasse on your willy - it's all a big testosterone thing. The most important thing about Antarctica is that it is unowned - it remains unowned no matter how many countries make a claim. We have to respect and cherish that. It is not significant if people create ice runways, which is what this 'road' is, in effect. It is a step towards possible exploitation but that is a long way off. If the signatories of the Antarctic treaty are vigilant, there is no imminent danger of exploitation."

The treaty, ratified in 1961, ended decades of great-power scrambling in Antarctica. Germany, seeking some extra Lebensraum, lodged a claim in 1939, and in the 1950s the continent was a battleground for the US and the Soviet Union. The US grabbed the south pole, with all its historical resonance; the Soviet Union, as usual getting the worst of the exchanges, took Vostok, the central point in Antarctica and the coldest place on earth. The UK also grabbed a chunk and issued British Antarctica stamps to back its claims.

The treaty, signed by the 12 countries then active in the region, agreed to demilitarise Antarctica, establish it as a zone free of nuclear tests and radioactive waste, set aside disputes over territorial sovereignty and promote scientific cooperation. There are now 27 "consultative parties" to the treaty, including not just the US, UK, China and Russia, but Belgium, Bulgaria and Peru, too. Each has a scientific base in Antarctica and at least seven - including the UK, Chile, Argentina, Norway, France, Australia and New Zealand - still make territorial claims, though these are effectively "frozen" under the terms of the treaty. Russia and the US, which once claimed four-fifths of Antarctica on the basis of visits by 19th-century whaling captains, reserve the right to make claims in the future.

Scientists see themselves as the saviours of Antarctica, protecting it from political chaos, but Wheeler questions their proprietorial attitude. She says that during her stay in Antarctica to research her book, Terra Incognita, she was made to feel like an intruder. "All the beardie types were very scathing about me, but I felt I had as much right to be there as they did," she says. "There is always a tension between national scientific interests and private expeditions," says Shane Winser, head of the expedition advisory centre at the Royal Geographical Society. "Scientists think they occupy the moral high ground and resent having to rescue incompetent adventurers."

Antarctica, this beautiful, unspoiled continent, seems to provoke remarkable bitterness. The scientists think it is their playground and resent intruders; the followers of Scott resent the building of a base at the pole that cost their hero his life (Cooney says that it should be declared a world heritage site and that there should be no buildings within 100m of the pole itself); and everyone resents the people who want to come for a day trip.

One day, however, these tensions may be replaced by bigger battles - over oil, minerals and territory - and then all those who love the continent will have to come to its aid. "In the Antarctic, nationality is dissolved," says Wheeler. "There are no time zones, so it can be any time you want it to be. That is liberating. All that matters is the cold - and everyone has to face that together."

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