Environmental Minister Børge Brende confirms that a new Svalbard tax may be included in the next national budget. He says the money will be earmarked for a fund to be used locally to preserve the Arctic environment.

Around 55,000 people visited Svalbard last year, including participants in seminars and conferences. Together, they spent the equivalent of 75,500 nights in local hotels and other accommodation.

A tax of NOK 150 thus could generate more than NOK 8 million a year. Local tourism officials welcome the tax, saying it will help preserve the local scenery, which is Svalbard's greatest asset.

"We look at Svalbard as a large national park," said Ulf Prytz, who represents several cruise ship operators in the area. "In the US, people are charged to enter national parks, and no one objects to that."

Permanent residents of Svalbard would be exempted from the tax.

Brende said the Svalbard tax wouldn't mean that similar taxes would be imposed on the mainland in Norway. There currently is no admission charge to the country's national parks.