TOURISM IN THE “LAND OF THE OZONE HOLE”: A PERCEPTION STUDY

• Main Authors: L. Michael Trapasso, Ph. D
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antarctic; Antarctic Peninsula; Argentina; Argentine; The Antarctic; Antarc*
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.484.796; http://www.urbanclimate.net/cctr/ws/papers/07_trapasso.pdf

Abstract: The Ozone Hole has been perceived as anything from a serious threat to human existence, to a scare tactic by fantasists. Like with other environmental issues, this is a matter of perception. Regardless of the scientific facts, people perceive what they will. The perception of an issue is reality to those who take that view. People in various regions of Argentina and the Antarctic Peninsula were interviewed to gather perspectives within the Land of the Ozone Hole. Several viewpoints are included in this study: a scientific perception, a government perception, a mass media perception, and a perception of tourists. It was discovered that each perception differed, at least somewhat, from the others. Tourists offered the widest range of perspectives on this issue. Argentine tourists were nonchalant about wearing sun block or protective headgear in the sun, despite repeated warnings by tourism professionals, whose perspective was much more serious. American and British visitors comprised the foreign group of tourists. The views expressed by the foreign tourists spanned the range of total ignorance of the ozone hole, to concerned opinions, to over zealous caution. A recommendation to the Argentine/Antarctic tourism industry is included.