You either love 'em or loathe 'em .sx The last day of World Travel Market , the stands are starting to look wobbly , the piles of glossy brochures are depleted and the smiles are looking a bit tight .sx The Travel Weekly team , which has walked the length and breadth of Olympia all this week , searching out stories and free drink , has found likely candidates for globes and gongs .sx The honours , awarded in no particular order , go to :sx Most unpopular WTM attendees :sx Anyone who turned up at Olympia tube station with only a zone-one ticket so everybody has to wait while they fish out the extra coins in excess fares .sx Most obstructive people :sx The guards at the turnstile of Olympia station who insisted on scrutinising every ticket and who helped create huge bottlenecks every morning and evening .sx Best on-stand hospitality :sx Dubai for the canapes .sx The over-developed sense of humour award :sx Dubai , again , for thinking our reporter was joking when she asked for a doggy bag .sx The linguistic challenge interpreter achievement award :sx Brazil , for fielding a five - strong team of non-English speakers for an interview .sx Linguistic endurance award :sx All those who attended the lunch hosted by Sandals and who had to sit through 25 speeches .sx Body language and business .sx There's a fascination about the different styles and presentation at WTM , a kind of unconscious ethnic body language .sx At the Chinese stand it is all quiet smiles and gentle nods of the head , hands clasped on the counter top .sx The Americans are here for Business with a capital B , so hustling is a way of life .sx If you're passing by , you're fair game .sx And if eye contact is made you are captured .sx They are universally great spielers .sx A simple question evokes a set piece reply that is uninterruptible .sx Unlike most Brits who seem a bit embarrassed , as if it's showing off to be here .sx Try to make eye contact and chances are they'll look away .sx But open a conversation and they're endlessly helpful .sx Spain is enveloped in a fug of Ducados smoke .sx There are huge hugs , mucho back - slapping and shouting voices , many using just one word 'hombre' .sx In France the greeting is more subdued and there is almost a monastic approach as the delegates beaver away in their tiny regional cells , pouring over rate cards and brochures .sx For the South Americans there's an influx of informality .sx Courtesy is stood on its head as it would be rude not to interrupt a conversation and shout to a passing friend in the aisle .sx And the offer of a drink is distended into an event by various introductions and peripheral chats .sx Sometimes it transcends the countries and the common currency is the business you're in .sx The major hotel chains , for example , have an almost clone-like patina of smoothness , with everyone oozing charm and exuding expertise .sx It's a delightful patchwork of physical signatures which help to spell out in shorthand who and what we are .sx A world of differences that binds us together .sx Virgin Islands aim to reverse slump .sx The US Virgin Islands are to rebuild tourism business from the UK and Europe following three years of falling sales .sx Unveiling a range of new hotels , new air capacity and plans for the Caribbean's first theme park , the islands' assistant commissioner for tourism Leona Bryant said :sx " Our tourism is like a roller coaster - for the past few years we have been rolling down .sx Now we are beginning to climb .sx " .sx She said new properties and air services were likely to have an immediate impact on the popularity of the islands by providing easier access and higher quality accommodation .sx The theme park , due to open in two years , will be a mini version of the Caribbean with music , arts , culture and cuisine of all the Caribbean destinations represented .sx Bryant said :sx " I have no doubt that the demand is there for our product and it is simply a case of putting in a lot of hard work and marketing to convert interest into bookings .sx " .sx She believes the European and UK markets will be particularly vital .sx They currently account for 12-15% of the islands' sales but Bryant hopes to see this increase to 25% in the next five years .sx She said the signs were good .sx Trade familiarisation trips were already winning enthusiasm for the destination and cruise lines were increasingly including the islands on their itineraries .sx St Croix is set to benefit from cruise interest .sx Last year no ships stopped at its shores but in 1992 there will be 127 ship calls .sx Bryant said :sx " Cruise ship passengers are very important to us , not only because they account for a large percentage of the visitor spending we receive , but also because a very high percentage of them come back for a stay-put holiday on the islands within two years .sx " .sx Bryant is confident that visitor numbers will increase in 1992 .sx Colorado going for Gold trade .sx Colorado is mounting a trade initiative to boost summer business from the UK and be seen as a sun as well as a ski destination .sx Industry chiefs will be invited to Colorado Gold , a conference schedule to be held at a resort in the state next year .sx A travel trade advertising campaign between the state and an airline is planned , as well as trips for agents .sx Blaine Henry , UK representative for the Colorado Tourism Board , said :sx " Our goal is to develop equal business from the UK between the summer and the winter .sx A year ago only 15% of business came during the peak holiday season , but we have increased it to 25% .sx " Domestically we do twice as much business in the summer - even though we have 12 of the best ski resorts in the world .sx " .sx Henry said he hoped operators would develop programmes using the Denver gate - way .sx After its relocation in October 1993 , the city's airport will become the world's largest .sx According to Henry , a new niche for summer product is family ranch holidays , where UK specialists are offering more capacity in Colorado .sx A new operator to feature the region is Discovery Tours , formed by ex-ILG executives Lucian Bartosik and Peter Brennen .sx Large summer programmes from operators such as Cosmos , Saga and even winter specialist Crystal have helped boost the trend towards year-round products .sx Package changes sought .sx ABTA is close to achieving three more amendments to the EC directive on package holidays .sx Following its success in persuading the Department of Trade and Industry to remove the clause which would have made retailers criminally liable for incorrect brochures , ABTA president John Dunscombe said he was confident more changes would follow .sx " It has been made clear to us that we are pushing at an open door , which is very encouraging , " he said at WTM .sx ABTA wants the directive changed to give operators strict guidelines about surcharges and force them to take out liability insurance .sx It also wants tailor-made packages to be included in the directive .sx " We have strict rules about surcharges and without them we could see a return to the bad old days of the 1980s when operators used surcharges to bump up prices , " said ABTA head of legal services Alan Bowen .sx " Also tailor-made packages make up about 20-30% of all packages , which is something the DTI obviously didn't realise .sx We want them included in the directive .sx " .sx But ABTA is unlikely to achieve all the changes to the directive it would like .sx " The directive includes words like 'significantly' 'occasionally' and 'prompt' without explaining what they mean , " said Bowen .sx " For example , it says tour operators must make prompt responses to complaints .sx But one man's promptness is another man's delay .sx " We have asked for strict guidelines but it now seems unlikely .sx " .sx TRADE PLEA TO PROTECT RAINFOREST .sx Brazil's tourist industry has called on the world's travel trade to send them clients to help save rainforests from destruction .sx Brazil believes tourism offers its best hope for economic development without destroying the environment .sx Tourism authority deputy marketing director Aristides de la Plata Cury said :sx " Brazil has to find ways to develop its economy and tourism is environmentally friendly .sx It must be strictly controlled but , if it is not encouraged , alternatives will be far more damaging .sx " .sx He said the eyes of the world were on the nation's every move and added :sx " We believe tourism and preservation of the rainforests are compatible and would encourage those people concerned with the environment to come and take their holidays in Brazil and make a positive contribution to conserving these areas .sx " .sx Brazil will next year play host to 130 countries at a United Nations conference on the environment .sx More than 4000 delegates had already requested tours into Brazil's heartland .sx Plata Cury said :sx " We have no doubt these people will go back to their own countries to become ambassadors for our form of environmental tourism .sx " .sx Brazil has revamped its marketing and promotions image to highlight its wildlife and turn the focus away from the traditional Rio and beach image .sx President of the Rio Hotel Association and general manager of the Orient Express Hotel's Copacabana property , Philip Carruthers , said :sx " For 20 years Brazil has sold itself on the image of beautiful women in tiny bikinis on beautiful beaches - it is time to move away from that .sx " .sx Airtours' refunds in resorts move .sx Airtours is giving holidaymakers cash refunds in resorts in a drive to improve its handling of customer complaints .sx The scheme was introduced this month in three destinations and , if successful , will be rolled out across the Airtours programme for the summer .sx Chairman David Crossland said a budget has been set aside and he promised there would be sufficient money to keep people happy .sx He declined to say where the scheme is in operation or what level of refunds are offered for fear of people taking advantage of it .sx But he said :sx " We have increased the authorisation of managers and staff in those areas .sx There is a check-list of things which are matter-of-fact and subjective .sx " .sx He spoke as agents at a WTM conference attacked Airtours for its after-service capabilities .sx David Whitmill of Accent Travel in Bristol said he had 27 outstanding customer complaints out of 500-700 Airtours bookings .sx Crossland acknowledged the problems Airtours had with the Flying Pig - a leased 747 - three years ago but claimed people wouldn't buy his holidays if they weren't happy .sx " We are happy with the quality we deliver , " he said .sx The new initiative stemmed from problems which followed the civil war in Yugoslavia , he added , which forced operators to sell elsewhere .sx " People going to Yugoslavia were moved en masse to the Mediterranean .sx Most operators found the alternative accommodation came under immense pressure for six weeks .sx " .sx The resulting problems prompted a six-month evaluation of how to pre-empt complaints from returning holidaymakers , said Crossland .sx The cash-back scheme is designed to reflect problems such as wrong brochure descriptions or subjective complaints such as quality of food .sx He estimated the industry complaint rate as 4% - or 400,000 holidays .sx He declined to give Airtours' rate .sx Tunnel boss hints at higher charges .sx By Jeremy Skidmore .sx Eurotunnel has given the strongest hint yet that it may charge more to cross the Channel than the ferry companies when it opens for business in June 1993 .sx The Channel Tunnel operator's chief executive Sir Alastair Morton said people were prepared to pay a premium for speed and his company would not be dragged into a price war with its rivals .sx " Crafts which are currently crossing the Channel quicker than the ferries have had all sorts of problems and yet people still pay that extra for speed , " he said .sx " I'm not prepared to say yet what our fares will be but I do not envisage we will be in a price war with any ferry company , " he added .sx " The route has proved itself not to be price elastic and we are offering a different service to the ferries .sx " Some people will pay to get across the Channel quickly and some will pay for a leisurely crossing .sx " .sx Sir Alastair said it was in everybody's best interest for Eurotunnel to co-exist with ferry operators .sx " P&O European Ferries is the big daddy and it would not be in our interests to price them out because we would then be a monopoly .sx