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Human Impacts on Antarctica and Threats to the Environment - Tourism
In terms of numbers, tourists greatly outnumber national programme personnel 37,000 as against 4,000 in the 2006/2007 season for instance (tourist numbers were up 14% on the previous year leading to calls to limit the number of tourists allowed to go). The national programme personnel clock up far more person-days however, and impacts are difficult to compare directly. While tourists may only only spend a relatively small time on landings, it is by its nature relatively "high-impact" time - compared to a scientist or electrician say who probably spend most of their time on a permanent or semi-permanent base. Tourists also, by their nature will want to visit the most picturesque and wildlife rich areas of Antarctica, and they tend to do so in numbers far greater than the entire compliment of many Antarctic bases. There is also the fact that those national programmes that are supplied by ship (as the majority are) have relatively few visits of those ships, whereas in the season, the great majority of all shipping activity in Antarctica is of tour ships. There have been accidents with ships being grounded on uncharted rocks and there have been oil-spills. With the best safe-guards in the world (and it has to be said that marine regulations for Antarctic ships, both statuary and self-imposed are as good as they get) the more ships there are, the more accidents there will be. Tourism in Antarctica is at present self-regulated by the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators (IAATO). This is an organization that applies strict guidelines to its member tour operators and ships. Such guidelines limit the size of the ships that can cruise Antarctic waters and also how many people can be landed at sites around Antarctica. So far IAATO is perceived as being successful in its aims and in regulation for Antarctic protection - though there are always those who would have no tourism at all. The real potential threat from tourists is from non IAATO member ships and tour operators who run cruises with larger ships and greater numbers of people landing. This has not happened yet to any significant degree, but if it does, at present, there is little or nothing that could be done. Another threat comes from smaller expeditions that are becoming increasingly common by individuals and small parties. Antarctica requires careful planning and a series of fail-safe rescue procedures if anyone gets into difficulty. These smaller expeditions often fail to do this adequately and resort to "humanitarian" requests for aid from shipping or nearby national bases when they get into difficulty. In recent years for example a small helicopter crashed into the sea off the Antarctic peninsula requiring rescue and an attempt to fly across Antarctica via the pole in a small aircraft ended by the aircraft crashing and the pilot being rescued by nearby base personnel. There is no guarantee that derelict or crashed vehicles left by private expeditioners will be removed from Antarctica as they should be. How many people go to Antarctica as tourists and where do they come from?
What do tourists do once they are in Antarctica?
Tourist Data from IAATO
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Antarctica
doesn't have any "residents" in that everyone who goes is a visitor for a short
time. There are two groups of visitors who can have an impact on Antarctica, tourists
and those who go as part of a national Antarctic programme.
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