An approach to the management of tourism in the Antarctic

Abstract

For centuries the Antarctic has held a special attraction for people. With the help of modern technology the area became more easily accessible, and commercial Antarctic tourism started during the late 1950s. Thirty years later it appears that a considerable change of scale of that tourism, and its operations is about to happen.

The Antarctic, which is managed by the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties, consider the Treaty Area a Special Conservation Area. A set of general guidelines and specific recommendations have been developed to regulate tourism. The question arises whether the present tourist regulations will be adequate to safeguard the Antarctic environment in the face of increasing economic interest.

This report describes the geophysical, climatic and biological features of the Antarctic and gives a brief history of Antarctic tourism. It then gives an account of potential tourist developments and their possible environmental impacts. The investigation of conservation measures and the tourist recommendations of the Antarctic Treaty System, together with an analysis of implementing mechanisms for those regulations, reveal implementation and enforcement problems and point to the lack of a set of institutional arrangements for the international management of future Antarctic tourism.

Some theoretical aspects of international public-policy-formulation are discussed and then considered in the light of existing arrangements. It is suggested that, with maximum input from all other interested parties, the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties should negotiate a Convention for the Regulation of Antarctic Tourism. A set of institutional arrangements for the international management of Antarctic tourism is developed to facilitate an adaptive policy process for optimal protection of the Antarctic environment.