As peak season for expedition voyages in the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard gets under way, tourist ships are staying hundreds of metres away from polar bears under new rules intended to protect the carnivores.
Svalbard, whose largest island is Spitzbergen, is a remarkably accessible wilderness. Its capital, Longyearbyen, is barely 800 miles from the North Pole yet has daily flights from Oslo. The archipelago attracts travellers keen to experience Arctic nature and see wildlife – notably polar bears.
