Tourism vessels and low impact shipping corridors in Arctic Canada : Trends, risks, community perspectives and management strategies

Abstract

Marine tourism in the Canadian Arctic is a small but rapidly growing industry. Since 1990, the average annual distance travelled by passenger vessels (e.g., cruise ships) has more than doubled, and for pleasure crafts (e.g., commercial or private yachts) the average annual distance travelled has increased by nearly 4000%. This growth is tremendous, yet, at the same time, pleasure craft vessels are also some of the least regulated vessels in the Canadian Arctic (Johnston et al., 2017a).