A boom in Antarctic tourism has seen visitor numbers surge in recent decades, prompting scientists to question whether the frozen continent can sustain the influx of adventurers perhaps drawn by "last chance tourism".
The vast majority of tourists leave on cruise ships from Tierra del Fuego in South America and cross the Drake Passage to the Antarctic Peninsula. They travel only in the Antarctic summer season, but numbers have swelled in recent decades.
Over the 1994/95 season, around 8000 tourists visited the continent, while the numbers recorded for the summer of 2023/24 were just over 122,000.
The general manager of Christchurch’s International Antarctic Centre, David Kennedy, suspects there could be what’s known as "last chance tourism" at play.
"There’s more advertising," he said. "More cruise ships going to Antarctica, and I think people are aware of climate change. People are thinking I better go and see it in case it’s not there for much longer, which I can assure you, it will be."
Many visitors are posting their experiences on the internet. There are vloggers and social media influencers on the ice, marathon runners taking part in the annual Antarctic marathon on the seventh continent and even the odd wedding.
Professor Daniela Liggett at Canterbury University’s Centre for Antarctic Studies told Q+A she’d like to see longitudinal studies on the impact of tourists to the hundreds of sites they visit and the cumulative effects of that and pressure on wildlife.
Tourist season also coincides with the bird breeding season.
With the numbers increasing, she said, “there’s the real possibility of accidents.
"I think that’s quite concerning now.
“The trouble is,” Liggett added, "you can’t comprehensively regulate and cap numbers.”
Permits for tour operators to travel to the Antarctic are issued by each Antarctic Treaty partner rather than a central organisation.
Since the number of tourists hit 100,000, the treaty partners have focused on developing a tourism framework — which will not be a short process.
However, there has been a tour industry association that set strict standards for operators to ensure a safe experience for tourists with minimal environmental impact on the places they visit. The International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators can expel members from their association if they don’t meet standards.
Heritage Expeditions, based out of Christchurch, was one of the first private companies to offer tours to the Antarctic.
Under New Zealand law, a government observer must accompany the tours to the Ross Sea.
Commercial director Aaron Russ explained, what he thought, was the value to Antarctica of having a controlled tourism industry.
"My father (who started the company) came to believe that the key to conservation is to get people to see places like Antarctica. They become advocates for the conservation of Antarctica. There’s no doubt in my mind."
Liggett knows some former Antarctic researchers who have guided tours there.
With a boom in cruises to the Antarctic Peninsula, a network of ocean scientists sent down underwater cameras to look at the damage to the seafloor caused by ships anchoring.
The video showed disturbance on the seafloor around the sites commonly visited.
New Zealand ocean geophysicist Sally Watson was on the team.
"It’s not just the anchor," she explained.
"There's also metres of chain dragging on the seafloor with the movement of the ship. There may be six ships a day to one area but it’s all unknown."
Liggett said she was aware of tour guides employed by tour operators, who, since the surge in tourist numbers, have quit.
"They quit because their own values no longer aligned."
But have the growing number of tourists, clambering to tick off number one on their travel bucket lists, just been an easy target for critics?
Both Liggett and expedition co-owner Aaron Russ, who was also a scientist, thought an urgent study was needed on the potential damage being done to Antarctic environments by the 70-odd scientific stations on the continent, and the scientists and crews who staff them.
"Does the benefit of that impact outweigh the negative impacts on the environment?" asked Russ. "As well, we’re seeing new bases being built on formerly pristine areas. The Antarctic Treaty doesn’t speak to a control on that activity either."
With intensifying geopolitics in the mix, that would be a massive challenge.
In the meantime, this summer, over 100,000 tourists are still set to have the experience of a lifetime.
For the full story, watch the video above
Q+A with Jack Tame is made with the support of New Zealand On Air
SHARE ME