This growth, however, could pose new threats to a continent designated a natural reserve “devoted to peace and science” and governed by the 53 nations party to the 1959 Antarctic Treaty. Treaty nations regulate activities on the continent, including tourism, while a separate U.S.-based organization, the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IATTO), helps implement those rules through its member travel companies.
The group also collects data on ships, visitors, and where they go. Officially, anyone visiting Antarctica is permitted to have “no more than a minor or transitory impact” on the environment. Industry insiders say the current regulations suffice to protect Antarctica because every company is mindful of the continent’s unique and fragile nature.
“We don’t want to see casinos, we don’t want to see souvenir shops,” says Gordon Dirker, Hurtigruten’s North America managing director. “The whole thing you’ve got with Antarctica is the pristineness of the place. So if you want to destroy that, then you destroy the whole opportunity.”
Seabourn sees both strong demand and growth for Antarctica, Delaney said, but not a situation where greater numbers means environmental degradation. “There may not be any other place in the world where there’s such broad consensus on it needs to be protected, and that means completely,” he said.
Treaty nations need to take a less “reactive” approach toward tourism on the continent and devise a comprehensive plan for future growth, said Claire Christian, acting executive director of the Antarctic & Southern Ocean Coalition, which represents 30 organizations focused on conservation in the region. Currently, no one has good data on what tourism means for wildlife there, nor a good idea of how many humans are too many, she said.
“The governance system doesn’t really have an idea how [tourism] trends should look in 10, 20, 30 years,” Christian said. “Antarctica is a special place, it is set aside, and we don’t want it to look like anywhere else.”
A new “polar code” adopted by the International Maritime Organization takes effect in January 2017, and some polar tour experts contend that the rule could also hinder some travel to the area. The group is mandating stricter measures for vessels that operate in polar regions, to include more thorough ship assessments and operational plans. Ships that operate in the Arctic or Antarctic regions will also need a new “polar ship certificate” from the IMO.
As visitors increase, their impact may be confined geographically due to the limited number of places ships can approach safely. Current landings are extremely concentrated: 77 percent of all visitors to the peninsula come ashore on about 494 acres, roughly one-sixth the size of London’s Heathrow Airport, according to a paper (pdf) published earlier this year in Antarctic Science, co-authored by IATTO Executive Director Kim Crosbie and two other researchers. At a ceremony Friday, Queen Elizabeth II presented Crosbie the Queen’s Polar Medal for her environmental work in the region.
Beyond the ship inspections, various other rules are aimed at protecting Antarctica. Among them:• Ships that land visitors on Antarctica must carry no more than 500 passengers.• No ships using “heavy” diesel fuel oil are allowed in area waters.• No food can be brought ashore.• No more than 100 people may land at a given time.• Penguins and other wildlife get the right of way: Stay back.• No unmanned aerial vehicle (UVA) flying.
The drone ban, imposed for the 2015-16 season, will be discussed at the IATTO’s annual meeting next month, said Amanda Lynnes, a spokeswoman for the group, and a penguin ecologist, who conducted field research in Antarctica during numerous six-month stints. “We just didn’t know enough about their use,” she said of the ban. “You might not want a little buzzy drone there while you’re having your [Antarctic] experience.”