The seven-month Antarctic tourism season, from October to April, coincides with the austral summer and, from an ecological perspective, with the peak breeding or growth season for several Antarctic wildlife populations of fauna and flora.
Most of the tourism in Antarctica is concentrated on ice-free coastal zones around the Antarctic Peninsula, which is the closest region to South America and possesses diverse scenery and abundant wildlife. This causes a concentration of visitors in specific routes and sites along this region. An estimated that 77% of all landings occur on only approximately 2 km2 of the 14 million km2 of the Antarctic continent.
Ross Sea
The Ross Sea is the other Antarctic region that is visited regularly by tourist cruises, although to a much lesser extent, with only 1,066 tourists in 2022-23 season according to IAATO (International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators). Tourist cruises to the Ross Sea region of Antarctica are typically three or more weeks long and much more expensive than visits to the Antarctic Peninsula region. An even smaller number of expeditions reach the Weddell Sea and East Antarctica.
Above. Basic Antarctic Tourism Statistics 2022-2023 season.
Ship-based tourism, which can include activities such as landings, small boat cruising or kayaking in conjunction with the cruise, is the dominant form of tourism, and included 65,123 tourists in the 2022-23 season. In addition, 32,730 tourists visited the Antarctic on cruise-only vessels in the 2022-23 season, without making landings.
Fly / Cruise
A relatively recent addition to the suite of tourism offerings is that of air-cruise tourism, with flights transporting tourists to cruise ships at King George Island in the South Shetland Islands. This diversifies not only the mode of transport, but also the length and character of itineraries in Antarctica. In the 2022-23 season, 6,114 tourists visited the region via air-cruise tourism. This option is potentially attractive because it removes the four days at sea crossing the Drake Passage, the often very rough body of water between South America and the South Shetland Islands.
From December to February, visitors can fly from Punta Arenas, Chile, to Antarctica in 2 hours, allowing a day visit to King George Island or combining the expedience of flying with the experience of exploring Antarctica by small expedition ship over several days. There is even the opportunity of flying to the South Pole, which receives less than 500 visitors per year. The trip from Punta Arenas to the South Pole takes 10 hours, plus a stopover to refuel. Tourists can also fly from Cape Town to the South Pole via Dronning Maud Land.
Tourists can also visit the Antarctic on private yachts or sailing vessels and there were 109 such visitors reported by IAATO in the 2022-23 season. However, this number is likely to be a minimum amount since it does not include all tourists who use this option as some yachts and sailing vessels are not IAATO members and some do not inform the relevant authorities of their visit to Antarctica, and so they are outside the official reported statistics.
Excerpt from Tourism in Antarctica: facts, concerns, and challenges published Nov 2024
Link to full article here
