The endless debate: Regulatory attempts to manage Antarctic tourism

• Main Authors: Gilbert, N., Liggett, D., Stewart, Emma
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antarctic; Arctic; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Antarctic Science; Antarctica
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10182/12227

Antarctic tourism regulation has been consistently on the agenda of the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM) since 1966. In that season 58 tourists visited Antarctica. Since 1966 the ATCM has held 34 meetings, established a Tourism Working Group since 2004, and held two Antarctic Treaty Meetings of Experts on the issue. In the peak season of 2007/08 Antarctic tourists numbered over 45,000. Tourism activities, like all activities in Antarctica are subject to the provisions of the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty. But significant growth in the industry has seen a range of potential additional regulatory measures explored; including: a separate “tourism” Annex to the Environmental Protocol; a tourism accreditation scheme; designating “Areas of Special Tourist Interest”, and departure state control measures. However, none of these regulatory approaches have been implemented. In 49 years of debate, the ATCM has agreed only two hard-law measures on tourism (in 2004 and 2009), neither of which has yet entered into force. In the absence of ATCM regulation Antarctic tourism has evolved a form of self-regulation since 1991, through the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO). In this presentation we assess the various regulatory proposals that have not come to fruition with a view to: identifying the motivations of the proponents; questioning why they failed; determining whether they still have merit, and drawing comparisons with similar tourism management schemes being implemented elsewhere, particularly in the Arctic. The presentation considers the challenges the ATCM has had in addressing this seemingly endless debate.