What Is A Comprehensive Review Of Tourism Research In The Polar Regions?

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1. Introduction: Unveiling Polar Tourism Research

Polar tourism is a growing industry, attracting adventurers and nature enthusiasts to the Arctic and Antarctic. With the increase in tourist activities in the Polar Regions, it’s important to look at the scholarly research that is available to examine tourism’s effects on the delicate ecosystems, local communities, and global climate systems. This article provides A Review Of Tourism Research In The Polar Regions, with a focus on the effects of ship-based tourism.

1.1. The Allure of Polar Regions

Polar regions have a unique appeal that draws tourists in. Rather than offering the conventional “sun, sea, and sand,” these areas offer something unique. The environment is a major tourism attraction in these regions, and they have a sense of environmental impermanence due to the polar amplification of global warming, making them a popular last-chance tourism destination.

1.2. Growing Scholarly Interest

The increase and diversity of polar tourism activities are shown in the scholarly literature. Initially, research focused on describing tourist activities. It has progressed to include studies on management, laws, ecological research, tourist experiences, and community attitudes. As barriers to travel decrease and visitor numbers rise, the concept of sustainability gains importance in both practice and scholarship.

1.3. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) offer a roadmap for fair growth and a sustainable future. The UNWTO has identified three SDGs as particularly important for the tourism sector: sustainable economic growth, responsible production and consumption, and the conservation of oceans and marine resources. Polar tourism operators can align their operations with the SDGs to achieve sustainable tourism.

1.4. Scope of This Review

This article explores the evolution of ship-based tourism in the high Arctic and Antarctic over the last few decades. It also examines the evolution of our understanding of its effects and governance. This paper is based on a review of peer-reviewed literature accessible through Web of Science, Scopus, and the authors’ personal databases.

2. Development and Status of Polar Ship-Based Tourism

Over the last decade, both the Arctic and the Antarctic have seen an increase in the number of cruise tourists, though the rates of growth vary by region and location. Global shocks, such as the 2007–2008 global financial crisis (GFC) and the recent COVID-19 pandemic, highlight that polar tourism is affected by global events.

2.1. Varying Visitation Rates

Visitation across destinations in the Arctic varies significantly by country. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Alaska saw approximately a million cruise passengers annually, while Svalbard had about 75,000, Greenland around 25,000, and the Canadian Arctic almost 5,000. The number of Antarctic visitors in the pre-COVID (2018–2019) season was around 75,000, with expectations to rise to 108,000 in the first season without COVID-19 restrictions.

2.2. Expedition Cruising

Ship-based tourism is mostly made up of expedition-cruise vessels, with many of the same ships operating in both the Arctic and Antarctic. Passengers participate in a variety of coastal and marine activities, such as hiking, camping, kayaking, and citizen science projects. Expedition cruise tourism is characterized by the flexibility operators build into their itineraries to adapt to weather and sea-ice conditions.

2.3. Seasonality and Accessibility

Cruise tourism in the Polar Regions is characterized by a strong seasonality, which is concentrated in the summer months due to weather and sea-ice conditions. Due to changes in sea-ice extent and thickness, operators are able to move into higher latitudes and extend their operating season.

2.4. Changing Demographics

Polar cruise tourism is becoming more accessible to people from all over the world. While North American, European, and Australasian passengers dominated Arctic and Antarctic expedition cruises a decade ago, markets from emerging economies like China and India have grown rapidly. These changes in visitor profiles may lead to different expectations, aspirations, and behaviors by tourists and operators.

3. Polar Tourism Governance

Marine and coastal tourism in the Polar Regions is governed through complex networks of state and non-state entities at various levels. In the Arctic, states control their sovereign territories, including their territorial waters, which are important arrival and departure points for Arctic cruise tourism activities.

3.1. International Maritime Conventions

Several international maritime conventions are important for polar cruise tourism. The IMO’s ban on heavy fuel oil (HFO) in the Antarctic, which has been in effect since 2011, requires cruise ships to operate on more expensive light marine fuel oil. In an Arctic context, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) provides a framework for states to develop national legislation regarding the trade and transport of wildlife.

3.2. Regional Regimes

The Arctic Council is a regional regime that promotes collaboration among Arctic states. The Council has worked on marine and maritime issues, such as the Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment reports, which are important for cruise-ship operators and decision-makers. Best-practice voluntary guidelines for marine tourism were established in 2015 to support sustainable marine tourism in the Arctic.

3.3. Antarctic Treaty System

Governmental regulation of Antarctic cruise tourism is organized differently because of the absence of exclusive territorial sovereignty in the Antarctic. The Antarctic Treaty System governs the area south of 60° S Lat. Human activities, including tourism, are addressed in the Protocol on Environmental Protection, which entered into force in 1998.

3.4. Self-Regulation

The Antarctic cruise tourism sector plays an important role in self-regulation. The IAATO was founded in 1991, and Arctic tour operators founded the AECO in 2003. Both organizations have developed mechanisms that align with their goals of ensuring sustainable, environmentally responsible, and safe tourism operations in the Arctic and Antarctic.

4. Polar Tourism Impacts

The growth and diversification of polar tourism raise concerns about the impacts tourism can have on polar environments and communities. Tourism impacts vary in terms of their nature, permanence, intensity, and scale.

4.1. Transitory vs. Cumulative Impacts

Transitory impacts are those that emerge and dissipate in a short time period. Some impacts are long-lasting and can interact with other elements in space and time, producing cumulative, or synergistic, effects.

4.2. Global Impacts

At the global level, the negative effects of polar tourism, such as carbon emissions and marine pollutants, relate to transport-related emissions or pollutants. The actual contributions made by tourism activities in relation to their impacts are yet to be sufficiently ascribed.

4.3. Regional Impacts

At the regional level, there has been more research on the social and economic dimensions of polar tourism. Cumulative positive impacts can be associated with economic benefits and the well-being of local and Indigenous populations. Conflicts regarding the use and availability of resources as well as the potential erosion of Indigenous cultures have also been identified as lasting negative consequences of tourism.

4.4. Local Impacts

At the local scale, scholars have emphasized the negative environmental effects of tourism, especially in Antarctica. Studies have examined wildlife behavior in response to human activities at visitor sites, concluding that the presence of humans has a negative, but apparently transitory, impact on wildlife. Negative cumulative environmental impacts include the potential introduction of invasive species and trampling of microscopic flora and fauna.

4.5. Challenges in Disentangling Impacts

It remains a challenge to separate the impacts of tourism from other human activities, such as subsistence activities, mining, fishing, transportation, and science. In addition, some of the regional impacts of polar marine tourism are concentrated in places outside the Arctic and Antarctic, such as Antarctic gateway cities.

5. Concluding Observations: Where to in the Future?

Ship-based tourism in the Polar Regions has been growing and diversifying, a development captured in a maturing body of scholarly research. Key polar tourism research needs include gaps in knowledge around the complex nature of tourism impacts on socio-ecological systems and the need for a better understanding of how to monitor and manage negative impacts.

5.1. Research Needs

Key polar tourism research needs include gaps in knowledge around the complex and interconnected nature of tourism impacts on integrated socio-ecological systems, along with the need for a better understanding of how we can effectively monitor and manage negative impacts while maximizing potential benefits arising from tourism operations.

5.2. Questions for the Future

Despite the maturing body of polar ship-based tourism scholarship, important questions about the future(s) of tourism to, and in, the Polar Regions and how tourism operators are to be regulated and managed remain. Should “degrowth” be proposed, with focus on value added and time spent wisely in the Polar Regions, rather than unfettered growth and diversification? We need to ask, now more than ever before, whether polar tourism is, and can ever be, truly sustainable.

5.3. Balancing Visitation and Needs

The fascination with the ‘otherness’ of the Polar Regions, which forms one of their key attractions for visitors, might also serve humankind in the desire to understand and protect these icy worlds and their coasts and oceans. The aforementioned questions highlight that, although we have developed a better understanding of the characteristics and governance of polar tourism through a maturing body of scholarship, a range of compelling and pertinent unanswered questions remain for present and future tourism scholars to ponder.

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7. FAQs About Polar Tourism

7.1. What are the main attractions in the Polar Regions for tourists?

The main attractions in the Polar Regions are their unique landscapes, wildlife, and the sense of environmental impermanence due to climate change. Tourists are drawn to see glaciers, ice shelves, and unique wildlife.

7.2. How does ship-based tourism impact the Polar Regions?

Ship-based tourism can have both positive and negative impacts. Positive impacts include economic benefits for local communities and increased environmental awareness among tourists. Negative impacts include carbon emissions, marine pollution, disturbance of wildlife, and potential introduction of invasive species.

7.3. What regulations govern tourism in the Arctic and Antarctic?

In the Arctic, tourism is governed by the individual Arctic states through their sovereign territories and by international agreements such as the IMO and CITES. In the Antarctic, tourism is governed by the Antarctic Treaty System, which prioritizes the maintenance of peace and scientific cooperation.

7.4. What role does the IAATO play in regulating Antarctic tourism?

The International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) plays a key role in self-regulating Antarctic tourism. It develops and enforces guidelines for sustainable and environmentally responsible tourism operations.

7.5. How can tourists minimize their environmental impact when visiting the Polar Regions?

Tourists can minimize their environmental impact by choosing eco-friendly tour operators, respecting wildlife, avoiding littering, and supporting local communities.

7.6. What is the Arctic Council, and what is its role in tourism management?

The Arctic Council is an intergovernmental forum that promotes cooperation among Arctic states. It has worked on marine and maritime issues and established best-practice voluntary guidelines for sustainable marine tourism in the Arctic.

7.7. Are there any specific activities that tourists should avoid in the Polar Regions?

Tourists should avoid activities that disturb wildlife, damage fragile ecosystems, or contribute to pollution. This includes getting too close to animals, leaving trash, and using non-eco-friendly products.

7.8. How has climate change affected tourism in the Polar Regions?

Climate change has made the Polar Regions more accessible to tourists due to the decrease in sea ice cover. This has led to an increase in tourism but also raises concerns about the potential for increased environmental impacts.

7.9. What are the main challenges in balancing tourism with the needs of local communities in the Arctic?

The main challenges include conflicting visions among stakeholders, potential erosion of Indigenous cultures, and conflicts over the use and availability of resources.

7.10. What future research is needed to better understand and manage polar tourism?

Future research is needed to better understand the complex nature of tourism impacts on socio-ecological systems, develop indicators for monitoring tourism impacts, and explore how tourists can contribute to positive change.