Geography- case study- T- tourism- Antartica

Question 1

How many tourists visit each year?

Answer 1

40,000

Question 2

When did the first specifically designed crew ship make its first voyage?

Answer 2

1969

Question 3

Why do most visitors have to arrive by cruise ship?

Answer 3

There are no commercial airports

Question 4

How do tourists travel around to the key locations (such as Peninsula) for short visits?

Answer 4

Small boats

Question 5

What are tourists attracted by?

Answer 5

Magnificent scenery e.g glaciers
Wildlife (penguins, whales, seals)
Antarctica’s remoteness and extreme environment adds a sense of adventure
More than 99% of Antarctica is covered in ice
Walking, kayaking, skiing,climbing, scuba diving, helicopter rides

Question 6

How does the Antarctica Treaty control tourism?

Answer 6

The international Association of Antarctic Tour Operators has a stick set of guidelines e.g:

• do not go within 5m of a penguin or other wildlife
• tourists must come ashore in groups of no more than 100 people at a time
• visitors must not take things away as souvenirs
• discharge of waste and disposal of rubbish by ships in Antarctic waters is not allowed

Question 7

What are the positive impacts of tourism for Antarctica?

Answer 7

• Many tour operators contribute money to schemes to conserve Antarctica
• visitors usually become advocates for the protection of Antarctica when they return home
• tourism has conserved important sites e.g Scotts Hut from the 1910 British Antarctic Expedition

Question 8

What are the negative impacts of tourism for Antarctica?

Answer 8

• boats tend to visit the same penguin colonies, sometimes several times a day. Disturbing the habitats
• animals do not like to be touched, if they leave as a result they may abandon eggs and young
• tourists trample slow-growing, fragile plants (mosses and lichen) and may leave litter
• the size of tour ships is increasing. An accident could result in an oil spill, which would harm wildlife.

Question 9

What are the worries for the future of Antarctica?

Answer 9

• There is a concern that larger ships will eventually be allowed to land and the volume of tourists will be beyond sustainable limits .
• There is a concern that breeding patterns may be disrupted as the peak tourist and breeding seasons coincide
• A big worry is any development of land based tourism
• there is a danger that tourists may come to see Antarctica as a theme park rather than a fragile nature reserve

Question 10

When did small scale tourism start in Antartica?

Answer 10

The 1950s when commercial shipping began to take a few passengers