Environmental Impact of Antarctica Tourism

The Arctic and Antarctica have most fragile environments on the planet. They are highly susceptible to damage from global climate change and human activity. In the Arctic, glaciers and sea ice are melting. While in Antarctica, surface waters have warmed, precipitation has increased and ice shelves are retreating at an alarming rate. Highland Adventures is profoundly committed to environmentally responsible tourism, all of the vessels used in our Antarctic Adventures are members of the International  Association of Antarctica Tour Operators.

Since the beginning of the modern Antarctic tourism industry in 1969, the number of tourists in Antarctica has grown from a few hundred to more than 30,000 each year. Recognizing the potential environmental impacts that such growing numbers of tourism could cause, seven private tour operators conducting excursions in Antarctica joined together in 1991 to practice and promote the highest possible standards of travel in this remote, wild and delicate region of the world. 

Currently, more than 100 Antarctica-bound outfitters are voluntary members of the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO). Together they have established extensive procedures and guidelines that ensure appropriate, safe and environmentally sound private-sector travel to the Antarctic: regulations and restrictions on numbers of people ashore; staff-to-passenger ratios; site-specific and activity guidelines; wildlife watching; pre- and post-visit activity reporting; passenger, crew and staff briefings; previous Antarctic experience for tour staff; contingency and emergency medical evacuation plans; and more. 

The IAATO has resolved to set the highest possible tourism operating standards in its effort to protect Antarctica. This effort is unique, and the challenge to maintain environmentally responsible tourism exists to this extent in no other region of the world. Working in close cooperation with governments and scientific foundations, IAATO's capable representatives attend all relevant Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings and other pertinent international conferences throughout each year. 

Antarctica represents a more profound manifestation of international peace than any other place in the world - managed in the past half-century through the Antarctic Treaty's unprecedented global cooperation of nearly 50 countries, and formally designated a "natural reserve dedicated to peace and science." IAATO has set the global precedent of best practice self-regulation in this extraordinary region. Their agreed best practices demonstrate that first-hand, environmentally responsible tourism is possible in remote and fragile wilderness areas. Their focus on protection, management and education promotes a greater worldwide understanding and protection of the Antarctic - leaving it as pristine and as majestic for future generations as it is today. 

Please join us on one or more of our remarkable journeys, and help to preserve one of the finest places on earth...Antarctica.