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Applied Geography (1990), IO, 327-341 Antarctica: a new tourist destination Nigel Wace Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia Abstract The scenic beauty and wildlife attractions of Antarctica, in conjunction with its remoteness, have encouraged the growth of tourism in the region. There has also occurred a limited amount of adventure tourism. The nature and future possi- bilities of Antarctic tourism can be classified according to the mode of transport employed to reach Antarctica. Airborne and seaborne tourism are the chief categories, and the 1990s are likely to witness the continued growth of tourism to the region, especially if improvements in air communications succeed in qualifying the existing problem of inaccessibility. Careful consideration should be given to the scientific and environmental implications of this process for both the Antarctic continent and islands in the Southern Ocean. Introduction A tourist has been defined as ‘one who tours, especially for pleasure’. In reality, tourists are not a single species, all seeking the same type of experience, and this means that any stereotyping of tourists to Antarctica proves as misleading as for any other region. A recent Australian parliamentary report defined Antarctic tourism as covering ‘all existing human activities other than those directly involved in scientific research and the normal operations of Antarctic bases’ (Australian House of Repre- sentatives 1989: 3). However, this study will concentrate upon those who pay for the experience of visiting the continent, although ‘official tourism’ will also be considered. A new tourist destination Tourists visit Antarctica for a wide range of reasons, including the scenic beauty of a pristine wilderness, ice scenery, the abundant wildlife (such as penguins, whales and seals), historic exploration sites, and scientific base stations. The opportunity to escape from a crowded urban life to a wilderness environment is a recurrent theme, alongside an ever-increasing search for new tourist locations and experiences. Passive sightseeing of ice scenery and wildlife is a predominant feature, but many tourists possess an active and informed interest in the region’s history, science or natural history. The boundary between education and leisure is often difficult to define, especially as Antarctic cruises offer lecture programmes involving specialists. The majority of Antarctic tourists originate from northern hemisphere countries and then assemble in Australasia or South America for transit to Antarctica, over distances varying from 1000 km for South America, 3000 km for New Zealand, 3500 km for Australia, to over 4000 km for South Africa (Fig. 1). South American ports and airports are not only nearer to Antarctica but also separated from Antarctica by a greater number of islands suitable for en route visits. Climatic 0143-6228/90/04/0327-15 0 1990 Butterworth-Heinemarm Ltd

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Page 1: Antarctica: a new tourist destination

Applied Geography (1990), IO, 327-341

Antarctica: a new tourist destination

Nigel Wace

Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia

Abstract

The scenic beauty and wildlife attractions of Antarctica, in conjunction with its remoteness, have encouraged the growth of tourism in the region. There has also occurred a limited amount of adventure tourism. The nature and future possi- bilities of Antarctic tourism can be classified according to the mode of transport employed to reach Antarctica. Airborne and seaborne tourism are the chief categories, and the 1990s are likely to witness the continued growth of tourism to the region, especially if improvements in air communications succeed in qualifying the existing problem of inaccessibility. Careful consideration should be given to the scientific and environmental implications of this process for both the Antarctic continent and islands in the Southern Ocean.

Introduction

A tourist has been defined as ‘one who tours, especially for pleasure’. In reality, tourists are not a single species, all seeking the same type of experience, and this means that any stereotyping of tourists to Antarctica proves as misleading as for any other region. A recent Australian parliamentary report defined Antarctic tourism as covering ‘all existing human activities other than those directly involved in scientific research and the normal operations of Antarctic bases’ (Australian House of Repre- sentatives 1989: 3). However, this study will concentrate upon those who pay for the experience of visiting the continent, although ‘official tourism’ will also be considered.

A new tourist destination

Tourists visit Antarctica for a wide range of reasons, including the scenic beauty of a pristine wilderness, ice scenery, the abundant wildlife (such as penguins, whales and seals), historic exploration sites, and scientific base stations. The opportunity to escape from a crowded urban life to a wilderness environment is a recurrent theme, alongside an ever-increasing search for new tourist locations and experiences. Passive sightseeing of ice scenery and wildlife is a predominant feature, but many tourists possess an active and informed interest in the region’s history, science or natural history. The boundary between education and leisure is often difficult to define, especially as Antarctic cruises offer lecture programmes involving specialists.

The majority of Antarctic tourists originate from northern hemisphere countries and then assemble in Australasia or South America for transit to Antarctica, over distances varying from 1000 km for South America, 3000 km for New Zealand, 3500 km for Australia, to over 4000 km for South Africa (Fig. 1). South American ports and airports are not only nearer to Antarctica but also separated from Antarctica by a greater number of islands suitable for en route visits. Climatic

0143-6228/90/04/0327-15 0 1990 Butterworth-Heinemarm Ltd

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328 Antarctica: a new tourist destination

\ I 300

Cough Island . / SOUTH AFRICA’

03 300

ATLANTIC OCEAN

LENINCRADSKAYA

- Macquarle Is.

PACIFIC OCEAN

Figure 1. Map of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean.

considerations are also influential. Temperatures above freezing point predominate in the Antarctic Peninsula’s summer season, a feature occurring for only brief periods in Australian Antarctic Territory (AAT) and New Zealand’s Ross Dependency (see Table 1). Distance, sea conditions, and the remote oceans fronting the AAT restrict its seaborne tourist potential, while pack ice restricts access to the Ross Dependency. The Antarctic coasts facing South Africa also possess a limited commercial potential because of distance, the lack of accessible intermediate islands, and the absence of the concentrated scenic and wildlife interest sought by tourists.

At present, the accessibility of a variety of scenery, wildlife, historic sites, and scientific bases reinforces the tourist potential of the Antarctic Peninsula and to a lesser extent the Ross Dependency (Table 1). However, the future development of air communications, such as to AAT, would serve to qualify existing problems resulting from distance.

An obvious method of classifying tourists is according to the means by which they reach the relatively isolated Antarctic continent, especially as the mode of transport, whether by sea or air, also affects the length of stay and the nature of environmental

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Niger Wace 329

Table 1. Antarctica’s tourist potential by sector

South America New Zealand Australia

Approx. distance from Antarctica Antarctic climate En route islands

Summer sea access Wildlife

Historic sites

Scientific bases

1000 km Mild, cloudy South Georgia South Sandwich South Orkneys South Shetlands Falklands Open Several species of penguins, birds and seals on islands and Antarctic coasts Charcot, NordenskjGld, Shackleton, Rymill, Falklands war Many

3000 km Very cold Snares Aucklands Campbell Macquarie Balleny Ross Sea pack ice Several species of penguins, birds and seals on islands and Antarctic coasts Borchgrevink Scott, Amundsen, Byrd

Few

> 3000 km Very cold, windy Heard Kerguelen Crozet

Offshore pack ice Several species of penguins, birds and seals on islands and Antarctic coasts Mawson hut Law

Few

impacts. Existing and potential tourist activities may be considered primarily in terms of airborne and seaborne tourism.

Airborne tourism

This category comprises sightseers overflying the continent without landing, inde- pendent adventurers making brief visits in specially equipped light aircraft, and land- based tourists flown in on package deals (Reich 1980; DOA 1988). Unlike the Arctic, Antarctica possesses minimal value for polar air routes, since there is only limited demand for flights between southern hemisphere countries. Scheduled Aerolineas Argentinas flights began between South America and New Zealand in 1981, but its great circle flight path, though advertised as a polar route, takes planes well to the north of Antarctica. This route has little tourist relevance, except in respect of the transport of Australasian and Far Eastern tourists en route to South America and/or Antarctica.

Aerial sightseeing flights over Antarctica

Aerial sightseeing flights in long-range passenger aircraft began in February 1977, when two chartered planes (a QANTAS Boeing 747 and an Air New Zealand DClO) transported up to 400 people per flight on 1 I-12-hour non-stop flights (Fig. 2). The aircraft maintained cruising altitudes across the Southern Ocean, before descending for passengers to view the spectacular scenery and wildlife along the edge of the Ross Barrier and the Trans-Antarctic Mountains on the west coast of the Ross Sea. The Air New Zealand flights invariably flew to McMurdo Sound, while some QANTAS flights from Adelaide and Perth flew along the less mountainous coasts from Lenin- gradskaya to Commonwealth Bay as far west as Casey base station. A few overflew the South Magnetic Pole, but none went near the South Pole in spite of some imagina- tive advertising intended to convey a somewhat different impression.

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Sunday 2nd. December 1979

AIR CONDITIONED

QANTAS 747 JUMBO

Departs Sydney 9.30 a.m. about an 11 hour flight- movie 2 superb meals - entertainment -

only 320 seats sold (capacity 398) and 196 windows

ONLY $338 ECONOMY

INCLUDING LUNCH AND DINNER

Book Now Ph one Faye Rowles (021699 9666 anytime

Post to: The SCOUI Association of Australia, 1 Buckingham Street, Surry Hills, N.S.W. 2010.

Name (Please Print) _,_.,,.,.,.,..,,.......,........,......................... . . . . . . . . .

Address ,..,......,,._...,. .,_,.............,........................ Phone f . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . __., ,.,......,.......,............... Postcode ..___...........

I enclose cheque/money order for $ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . for .._..... tickets

Figure 2. Press advertisement for aerial sightseeing trips to Antarctica, National Times (Australia), 3 Nov. 1979.

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Niger Wace 331

The appeal of these flights derived principally from the views of ice scenery, including mountains, glaciers, ice-free dry valleys, the active volcano of Mount Erebus, and the Ross Barrier. There was also a strong novelty element. Information packages were distributed, while commentaries were often given by experienced Antarctic expeditioners or those with relevant specialist knowledge. Education and a sense of adventure blended with entertainment. Most flights were fully booked, and even attracted participants from Europe and North America. The episode proved a remarkable example of imaginative entrepreneurship but the commercial emphasis was paralleled by a failure to consider either environmental or search and rescue considerations. On 28 November 1979 an Air New Zealand DC10 crashed into‘Mount Erebus with the loss of all 257 occupants. Three further flights followed, but the awkward questions raised about safety and responsibility by the Erebus crash con- tributed to a decline in popularity. Chartered flights stopped in February 1980, by which time 44 flights had flown about 10 000 aerial sightseers over Antarctica.

Although a Chilean DC6B plane trip undertaken in December 1956 over the Antarctic Peninsula is interpreted as the first ever overflight (Headland 1990), South American countries have never offered comparable overflights on a regular basis. Occasional flights over the South Shetlands and the Antarctic Peninsula have been undertaken from Punta Arenas, although cloud poses viewing problems.

Airborne land-based tourism

The first commercial flight landing passengers in Antarctica was made in October 1957 by a Pan American Airways Stratocruiser, which flew from New Zealand to McMurdo Sound (Headland 1990). There were a few more flights, but the US authorities soon imposed landing restrictions because of deficiencies in accommoda- tion and search/rescue facilities as well as of the alleged disruption of scientific research. Land-based tourism did not recommence until the 1983-84 season, when Chilean Air Force Hercules aircraft carried up to 200 passengers from Punta Arenas to the South Shetlands, where the Chilean Teniente Marsh base on King George Island boasts a loo-bed ‘hotel’. At present this route represents the only regular tourist air link with Antarctica and is advertised in glossy brochures at prices ranging upwards from US$3990:

Should your time be limited, it is possible to get the ‘feel’ of the Antarctic by joining a 6 DAY EXPEDITION, flying from PUNTA ARENAS to KING GEORGE ISLAND in the ANTARCTIC PENINSULA, where you will stay for 3 nights at the polar base Guest House . . . From here you will be taken on field trips to penguin rookeries, whaling station remains, an elephant seal colony and glaciers, returning on the 5th day flying back to Punta Arenas for your overnight stay.

As a result, King George Island has become the first tourist resort in Antarctica, partly because of its geographical accessibility and partly because of its relatively benign climate.

In January 1988 airborne tourism reached the South Pole (Fig. 3). A Canadian company, Antarctic Airways, established the first commercial air service in the region (Swithinbank 1988). A DC4 plane transported passengers from Chile to a new airstrip established at Patriot Hills, and then small ski-equipped Twin Otter aircraft carried between six and eight passengers to the South Pole (Plates 1 and 2). A round-trip ticket from Punta Arenas to the Pole via Patriot Hills costs around US$15 000, although Antarctic Airways’ tourist utility is reinforced by the travel facilities available for scientists wishing to move around the continent.

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332 Antarctica: a new taurist destination

60%

South Pole a

Figure 3. Map of Antarctic Airways’ activities based on Chilean facilities at Punta Arenas and Teniente Marsh (South Shetland@. Patriot Hills is used as an airfield to travel on to the South Pole. Vinson Massif is the highest point in Antarctica (re-measured at 4897 m).

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Niger Wace 333

Plate 1. Antarctic Airways plane on ice runway at Patriot Hills. This shows the first landing by a DC4 at Patriot Hills on 21 Nov. 1987. The plane flew from Chile via Teniente Marsh (photo-

graph used by kind permission of Charles Swithinbank).

Plate 2. Antarctic Airways base constructed on lateral moraine at Patriot Hills, Dec. 1987. This shows the small Twin Otter planes used to fly 1080 km to the South Pole. Five round trips were undertaken during January 1988. The flag indicates the Canadian origins of Antarctic Airways

(photograph used by kind permission of Charles Swithinbank).

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334 Antarctica: a new tourist destination

The recent period has witnessed the emergence of independent airborne tourism, The initial tourist flight to AAT was made by Dick Smith from Hobart in November 1988. This flight, though not a commercial venture, demonstrated the feasibility of employing specially equipped Twin Otter aircraft not only to reach various bases within the AAT but also to collect scientific data in cooperation with the Australian Antarctic Division. This episode highlighted the links already established between science and tourism.

Future possibilities

In 1979 the Mount Erebus crash demonstrated the inadequacy of search and rescue facilities for airborne tourism in the Antarctic (Auburn 1982). Low temperatures, in- accessibility and lack of shelter mean that the survivors of any crash would live for only a short period, particularly as existing Antarctic bases prove incapable of meeting the food, medical and shelter requirements of large numbers of people. The recovery of bodies and personal effects after the Erebus crash disrupted New Zealand research work at Scott base for a long period.

Aerial sightseeing and airborne land-based tourism conducted from Australia and New Zealand have been in a state of limbo since the Erebus crash. Government decisions are awaited regarding proposals for the resumption of overflights and the construction of a visitors’ centre and airstrip near Davis station (Australian House of Representatives 1989: 19-27). A recent parliamentary report on Antarctic tourism advised that the Australian government should not approve proposals for airstrips or land-based accommodation ‘until such time as a detailed conservation strategy is developed for the Australian Antarctic Territory’ (Australian House of Representa- tives 1989: 44). In the meantime, the completion of a French airstrip at Dumont D’Urville in Adelie Land will improve aerial access for Australians to adjacent parts of AAT independently of official attitudes, albeit via Reunion in the Indian Ocean. For example, Mawson’s hut at Commonwealth Bay is nearby, and a tour retracing part of Mawson’s famous journey during his 1911-14 expedition would possess an obvious appeal for Australian tourists with a sense of adventure and history.

Land-based airborne tourism from South America is likely to continue, particu- larly as it is facilitated by geographical factors and official logistical support. Flights continued in spite of the crash of a Chilean tourist plane on King George Island in January 1985 with the loss of all ten passengers. Aerial sightseeing over the Antarctic Peninsula and nearby islands could be developed from either Argentina or Chile, while further possibilities might arise in the sphere of combining airborne with seaborne tourism. For example, aircraft could fly people to Antarctica for sea cruises, thereby saving both time and an often uncomfortable sea voyage. The recently opened Mount Pleasant Airport on the Falkland Islands, in conjunction with Britain’s long- standing Antarctic tradition, offers a number of tourist opportunities in south polar regions.

Seaborne tourism

At present, the majority of fare-paying tourists to Antarctica go by sea in small cruise ships departing from South American and New Zealand ports. Seaborne tourism from South America began in 1958, and during the 1970s occasional visits to the Antarctic Peninsula were made by large vessels operating out of Buenos Aires with between 350 and 800 passengers (Codling 1982). During the 1980s about three or four sea cruises a summer were undertaken by two ships, the Lindblad Explorer (renamed

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Nigel Wace 335

Plate 3. Society Expeditions’ World Discoverer at Signy, South Orkney Islands, 1984 (photo- graph by A. Wootton used by kind permission of the British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge).

the World Explorer in 1984) and the World Discoverer (Plate 3), which transport about loo-140 passengers. Both vessels are now operated by Discover Reederei Co. of Bremen under charter to Society Expeditions of Seattle. The Lindblad Company, having chartered a small Greek ship during 1987-88, is scheduled to re-enter the Antarctic cruise business in 1990 with a new ice-strengthened ship, which will increase the annual capacity of seaborne tourism to about 1500 tourists.

Each cruise lasts normally for between two and three weeks. The main route departs from Punta Arenas, operating to the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the coast and offshore islands of the Antarctic Peninsula. Here a wide variety of scenic attractions, accessible wildlife locations, historic sites and scientific bases exist in a reasonably compact area. Even the scenes of conflict in the 1982 Falklands war have been drawn into the tourist itinerary, although Ushuaia, formerly an important Argentine departure point, has not been utilized since that conflict. The final cruise of the season may cross the South Pacific to the Ross Sea and on to New Zealand in order to reposition the ships for use in the Australasian winter. Often such cruises are advertised as ‘circumnavigations’ in a manner displaying a curious disregard for geography.

New Zealand-based cruises usually depart from Bluff, and visit subantarctic islands (such as Macquarie Island) as well as Victoria Land, the Ross Ice Barrier and McMurdo Sound. Pack ice and weather conditions may necessitate lengthy diversions to the coast of Adelie Land and Commonwealth Bay, but the options are more limited than in the Antarctic Peninsula region. Further problems arise from the long sea voyages and landing difficulties, while environmental concerns caused the Tasmanian government to restrict the number of visitors to Macquarie Island to 1000 people during the 1990-91 season as well as to initiate a research project to study the impact of tourism.

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336 Antarctica: a new tourist destination

Plate 4. Cruise passengers landing from World Discoverer at Deception Island, South Shetland Islands, 1988 (photograph used by kind permission of Charles Swithinbank).

Cruises, though enlivened by sightings of whales and icebergs, may be charac- terized by lengthy and often uncomfortable periods at sea, which may elicit complaints-situations resembling near-mutiny can arise-from passengers who have paid large sums of money to see Antarctica itself. For those accustomed to the timetabled world of scheduled transport, it proves difficult to understand why all the places mentioned in the tour brochures are not visited. Ships normally carry a cruise director responsible for the daily programme, plus a hostess, doctor and group of specialists to deliver lectures on natural history, exploration and other relevant aspects. The 1989-91 Society Expeditions brochure lists cruise prices ranging mainly between f7000 and f10000 for 16-2%day tours out of London. However, one 1991 cruise entitled ‘In the Footsteps of Scott and Shackleton’ has prices commencing at f10 000 and rising to &17 OOO! Inevitably passengers tend to be affluent older people, averaging 60 years of age and composed mainly of retired professionals and business- men from the US, albeit with a growing Japanese and European representation.

The present scale of seaborne tourism exerts a relatively minimal impact upon the environment. In fact, conservation is an important element in cruise ship lecture pro- grammes and landing parties are accompanied by experienced guides instructed to ensure that tourists adhere to environmental guidelines (Naveen et al. 1989). At present, cruise tourism tends to be self-policing, and the conservation ethic-‘leave nothing behind you except footprints’ and ‘only take photographs and litter away with you’-is firmly upheld by tour operators and imbued into their clientele.

Nevertheless, there is no room for complacency. Human footprints are a serious problem in a region where the ability of plants to regenerate from even minimal

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Plate 5. Cruise passengers use Zodiac landing craft to reach less accessible locations. This shows tourists landing to visit Poland’s Arktowski station, 1988 (photograph used by kind permission

of Charles Swithinbank).

damage is extremely slow. As a result, repeated visits to any one site, even by well- regulated tours, can devastate a fragile plant cover. Damage to moss mats and hummocks is already evident in several parts of the Antarctic Peninsula. Most tourists go ashore in order to view and photograph the scenery (Plate 4), scientific stations (Plate 5), historic sites (Plate 6) and wildlife. Inevitably the locations of penguins and seals will be visited repeatedly on successive cruises, particularly as high prices create the expectation of seeing as much as possible in a brief visit. Pressures upon wildlife may affect local breeding success (of the giant petrel, for example, on King George Island) and it is important to ensure that appropriate studies are undertaken regarding the frequency of visits and the appropriate distance to be maintained between visitors and wildlife. Although there exists an element of self-policing, tourism demands continual monitoring of environmental matters. In fact, the New Zealand authorities require their own rangers to be carried as kind of ‘environmental chaperons’ on cruise ships visiting Campbell, Auckland or Snares Islands. Certainly, their reports provide an invaluable reference point on this topic.

Seaborne adventure tourism

This term covers a diverse group of visitors involved in independent ‘private expeditions’ for the purposes of exploration, adventure, research or other reasons (Headland 1990). The fact that some people pay to participate blurs the distinction between adventure and commercial tourism, even if most ‘adventurers’, seeing them- selves as active rather than passive travellers, eschew the title of tourist. Their principal aim may be to climb a mountain, collect scientific data, explore a coast or island, restore a historic hut, retrace an explorer’s tracks, or navigate a small craft in

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338 Antarctica: a new tourist destination

Plate 6. Cruise passengers visit a historic site. This photo shows Nordenskjiild’s shelter at Paulet Island, 1988. NordenskjGld’s Swedish polar expedition (1901-04) wintered on Paulet Island in 1903 after the loss of their ship. One man died, but the party was rescued by an

Argentine ship (photograph used by kind permission of Charles Swithinbank).

the Southern Ocean. Inevitably, a strong sense of independence, in conjunction with an ability to reach more inaccessible places, separates these visitors from cruise passengers, while further differences arise from relative youth-they are usually aged between 20 and 40 years-and willingness to tolerate considerable discomfort and social deprivation.

In 1978 Damien Uoverwintered in Antarctica and a number of independent adven- turers have followed this example, taking advantage of the possibilities offered by the French”built D~rn~e~ class vessel. A retractable keel enables this 14-m two-masted ocean-going boat to be beached or winched ashore over sand or ice. An internal cocoon surrounded by polyurethane insulation provides a living cabin of about 30 m* at a temperature of 18°C in Antarctic Peninsula conditions, enabling four people to stay during the winter if equipped with adequate fuel and provisions. Thicker insulation can provide tolerable living conditions in colder temperatures. This over- wintering trend seems likely to continue, alongside a growing number of special- interest expeditions, such as those organized by Australian and New Zealand wildlife and conservation societies to islands in the Southern Ocean.

Environmental and safety aspects

Only small numbers are involved in adventure tourism, but their independent mode of operations and ability to reach inaccessible areas raises regulatory problems in terms of preventing adverse environmental impacts to Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) and Specially Protected Areas (SPAS). The relatively pragmatic nature of their programme renders it difficult to monitor their activities and the

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Niger Wace 339

Antarctic Treaty parties have expressed concern about the implications of inde- pendent tourists, who might also make unwelcome and expensive demands upon their scientific stations.

Official ‘tourism’

Official (‘freebie’) tourism, though including a tourist element, has other motives designed to create political, official and media support for Antarctic activities as well as to foster a wider sensitivity of the region’s special nature and needs. This category relies primarily upon the availability of fast and reliable communications which facilitate brief visits by politicians, officials, journalists and others. Air transport pre- dominantly performs this role, but the coincidence of the southern hemisphere summer vacation with the period when supply vessels visit Antarctica also enables ships to be used. For example, several Australian ‘official tourists’ have voyaged south to AAT on the supply ship, Zcebird. Nevertheless, the pace of expansion of ‘official’ tourism is likely to be dependent upon the extent to which air communica- tions are improved through the construction of more landing strips capable of taking intercontinental aircraft.

Implications of Antarctic tourism

Antarctic tourism raises a number of interesting questions, which are considered more fully by Beck (1990). The emergence of tourism is often perceived as a threat to Antarctica’s current role as a continent of science, especially as tourist visits to bases are interpreted by many scientists as an unwelcome disruption to their research pro- gramme. Also the sudden appearance of new faces ashore often proves unsettling for otherwise isolated scientific research stations, and visits tend to be followed by out- breaks of minor infections among base personnel.

Therefore, science and tourism, though presented as legitimate peaceful uses, often appear to be activities in conflict with each other. But there are alternative perspec- tives, treating them as complementary activities. The interest of most Antarctic tourists extends beyond passive sightseeing to an informed interest in scientific matters, including natural history. Antarctic tourists can be readily involved by the cruise ships’ specialist lecturing staff in systematic observations of specific topics, such as ‘whale watches’ and ‘bird counts’. A camera is the universal tourist talisman, and the photographs taken on cruises of ice conditions, glaciers and beach morphology provide a continuing visual record monitoring environmental changes, breeding sites and glacier conditions. In theory, tourist photographs represent a significant scientific database. This archival resource is largely untapped, even if practical problems of collection, organization and processing will have to be overcome if this concept is to become a reality. In the meantime, tourism serves an important educational role through the development of a better public understanding of Antarctica, including the value of scientific and environmental research conducted in south polar regions. Tourists are also taxpayers and voters, and in this manner visits to Antarctica may sensitize opinion regarding the special fiscal and other needs of polar research (ASAC 1988).

Antarctic Airways soon demonstrated the dual-purpose role of their flights (Swithinbank 1988), and any future improvements in air communications will benefit both tourists and scientists, who will be able to devote more time to research rather than to transit. Already Argentine and Chilean supply vessels employed to service Antarctic bases transport tourists, who use Chilean accommodation on King George

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340 Antarctica: a new tourist destination

Island. The revenue accruing from tourism helps to defray scientific costs. This dual role was highlighted in January 1989, when the Argentine ship, Bahia Parako, was Iost while servicing Argentine bases and transporting nearly 80 tourists. Once again geographical factors mean that South American countries are in the best position to profit from the mix of science and tourism.

All human activities exert adverse impacts and it is important to ensure that tourists are not allowed to undermine the fragile polar environment in either Antarctica or the islands visited en route, since they act as breeding grounds for large popuiations of marine birds and mammals which occupy the highest trophic levels in the oceanic food chains and whose numbers serve as a useful yardstick to monitor changes in the bio- logicai productivity of the Southern Ocean.

Conclusion

Each moment in Antarctica promises opportunities for adventure and discovery. . . You can stand among hundreds of thousands of chattering penguins and chicks, glide through a forest of sparkling icebergs, or visit with research scientists unlocking the secrets of the continent. And you can rest assured that all activities on the expedition will be conducted with due regard for the Antarctic ecosystem . . . Our experienced Captains and crew, naturalists and passengers work together as a team to maintain the most fragile of balancing acts-that between Man and the Antarctic world.

In addition, the Society Expeditions brochure promises passengers ‘wonders comparable to nothing else on earth’. Even allowing for the natural exaggerations of the advertising copywriter, Antarctic tourism retains a special cachet, and both airborne and seaborne tourism seem likely to grow in the 1990s. This raises the need to ensure that it develops in a responsible manner, and the brochure’s conservation emphasis is worth noting, especially as shipping operators have recently adopted their own environmental guidelines.

All tourists are migratory, spending limited time in the region visited. They share this characteristic with Antarctic seals and penguins which congregate ashore in conditions of local pollution, rampant competition for space, and social disorder. Without the adoption of a careful and thoughtful approach to the management of Antarctic tourism, the seasonally migrant humans defined as ‘tourists’ would exert similar impacts upon the fragile polar environment.

References

ASAC (1988) Tourism in the Antarctic. Hobart: Antarctic Science Advisory Committee. Auburn, F. M. (1982) Antarctic law andpo~itics. London: Hurst. Australian House of Representatives Standing Committee on Environment, Recreation and

the Arts (1989) Tourism in Antarctica. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service.

Beck, P. J. (1990) Regulating one of tourism’s last frontiers: Antarctica. Applied Geography IO, 343-356. Codling (tree Reich), R. J. (1982) Sea-borne tourism in the Antarctic: an evaluation. Polar

Record 21 (130), 3-9. DOA (1988) submission on tourism in the Antarctic, 25 August 1988. Canberra: Department

of the Arts, Sport, the Environment, Tourism and Territories. Headland, R. K. (1990) Chronological list of antarctic expeditions and related historical events.

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

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Nigel Wace 341

Naveen, R., de Roy, T., Jones, M. and Monteath, C. (1989) Antarctic traveler’s code. Antarctic Century 4, 6-l.

Reich, R. J. (1980) The development of Antarctic tourism. Polar Record 20 (126), 203-214. Swithinbank, C. (1988) Antarctic Airways: Antarctica’s first commercial airline. Polar Record

24 (151), 313-316.

(Revised manuscript received 2 March 1990)