Antarctic tourism is not a mass market, because the travel is expensive and takes a long time. But Antarctic tourism has increased rapidly in the last ten years, to about 8000 in 1993-94.

          Most the people visit the Antarctic Peninsula, because the sea voyage is the shortest and there are plenty of attractions like seal and bird colonies and spectacular glaciers. Even there are thousands of tourists, their impact is much less than that of permanent stations. Tourist visit Antarctica by ship and they go ashore only for brief periods. They may leave nothing but footprints and take nothing but photographs. Even this small activities can be a threat to the Antarctic environment. Many moss beds on the Peninsula and offshore islands are so fragile that a single footprint can last for decades. To get that memorable shot, visitors may be tempted to approach to close to wildlife and disrupt breeding and nesting behaviour.

          On the other hand, tourists make good ambassadors for Antarctica. Most already have a keen interest in the continent before they come, and take home an even greater commitment to its conservation.

Adventure Tourism
Shipborne Tourism

Adventure Tourism

          In the last few years there has been a great increase in adventure tourism, often using aircraft to land deep within the Antarctic. Adventurers have climbed mountains, motor-cycled across the ice, and walked and skied to the South Pole. A company, Adventure Network International, has operated flights since 1987 from Punta Arenas in the southern part of Chile to a snow runway at the Patriot Hills, in the Ellsworth Mountains, Antarctica. They commenced operations with old military surplus DC4 and DC6 aircraft. Today, they use Hercules heavy transport planes. From the Patriot Hills, light aircraft are used to deliver mountain climbers to their destinations - many to Vinson Massif, the tallest mountain in Antarctica, and to fly others on to the South Pole. The cost for a private individual to travel to the South Pole and back is approximately $70,000. A new service by Polar Logistics now flies to the Norwegian sector of Antarctic from Cape Town, South Africa. These flights also support scientific programs. Private sailing yachts are increasingly visiting the Antarctic these days, especially in the Antarctic Peninsula area. These yachts usually have strengthened steel hulls, but there is concern about safety and disruption to national scientific programs from yacht tourists who are not well prepared for the rough southern ocean crossing and the dangers of sea ice.

          The greatest number of tourists travel to Antarctica by ship from the tip of South America to the Antarctic Peninsula area. Typical cruises last about 10 days. Limited numbers of tourist ships from New Zealand and Australia visit the more remote Ross Sea area and East Antarctica, where Australia's stations are. These cruises last up to three weeks. Trips right around Antarctica have also been organised by tour operators. Most of the cruise ships offer luxury accommodation and it costs between $500 and $1,000 per day to go on one of these cruises. In the 1996-97 summer 7,322 tourists visited Antarctica this way. In 1997-98, it is expected that the number will increase to more than 10,000. Visits are made to scenic and historic sites, and to operating stations. The majority of tourists are wealthy retirees from the US, Europe, Japan and Australia. Most operators belong to the IAATO - the International Association of Antarctica Tourist operators, and have a Code of Conduct to minimise the impact of their visits on the environment.

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