Greenland's 'iceberg capital' split as local operators say they're frozen out of tourism

It is known as the "iceberg capital of the world", but to the mayor of Ilulissat, in northern Greenland, it is also a town where friends and neighbours have stopped talking to each other in a dispute over the cruise ships that bring tourists to see its frozen wonders.

- Miranda Bryant

Ilulissat's Unesco-listed icefjord draws thousands of visitors in the summer months, each potentially bringing lucrative business to the town. But frustrated local tour operators say they are being shut out by larger companies, who are undercutting local businesses or excluding them entirely - leaving local boats sitting unused in the harbour.

The town's mayor, Lars Erik Gabrielsen, has called on residents to protest against the cruise ship arrivals with demonstrations and signs - drawing the ire of a minister in the territory's government who has accused him of scaring off tourists.

The community, he said, is divided between those who have chosen to work with Greenland Cruises, a Greenlandic-owned company based in the capital, Nuuk, and the Danish firm Vela Nordic, and those who have not. "We don't even recognise ourselves," said Gabrielsen. "We are not saying hello to each other because we are split."

If cruise ships stopped working with these two companies and the Danish transport company Diskoline, they would be supporting local taxpayers, he said.