New Issues in Polar Tourism traces and analyzes a decade of growing interest in the polar regions, and the consequent challenges and opportunities of increasing tourist traffic in formerly remote and seldom-visited places. The book arises from the recently-formed International Polar Tourism Research Network (IPTRN), and documents the outcomes of its 2010 conference, held at Sweden’s Abisko Scientific Research Station.
The world’s polar regions are attracting more interest than ever before. Once regarded as barren, inhospitable places where only explorers go, the north and south polar regions have been transformed into high profile tourism destinations, increasingly visited by cruise ships as well as becoming accessible with direct flights. Tourism is seen as one of the few economic opportunities in these regions but at the same time the polar regions are being opened up to tourism development they are being affected by a number of new factors that are interconnected to travel and tourism. Climate change, landscape and species loss, increasing interest in energy resources and minerals, social changes in indigenous societies, and a new polar geopolitics all bring into question the sustainability of polar regions and the place of tourism within them. This timely volume provides a contemporary account of tourism and its impacts in polar regions. It explores the development and prospects of polar tourism, as well as tourism’s impacts and associated change at high latitudes from environmental, economic, social and political perspectives. It draws on cutting edge research from both the Arctic and Antarctic to provide a comparative review and illustrate the real life issues arising from tourism’s role in these regions. Integrating theory and practice the book fully evaluates varying perspectives on polar tourism and proposes actions that could be taken by local and global management to achieve a sustainable future for polar regions and development of tourism. This complete and current account of polar tourism issues is written by an international team of leading researchers in this area and will have global appeal to higher level students, researchers, academics in Tourism, Environmental Studies, Arctic/Polar Studies and conservation enthusiasts alike.
Tourism throughout the world raises environmental issues that are often concerned with conflicting rights and responsibilities: the inherent right of mankind to travel, the no-less inherent right of indigenous people to guard their environmental heritage, and the responsibility of governments - local, national or (in the unique case of Antarctica) international - to protect environments over which they exercise stewardship. Additionally, the presence of international commercial enterprises, especially marine and other mass transport modes, represent unique governance challenges.This book deals mainly with environmental issues and the management implications arising from polar tourism, one of the fastest-growing sectors of world tourism. However, many of the issues discussed here arise no less urgently in temperate and tropical wilderness areas, and indeed in any region where sensitive environments are subjected to mass tourism. The principles and guidelines discussed here are of interest and practical use in tourism studies generally.
Cruises are the primary form of tourism in the Polar Regions and cruise ship tourism in both the Arctic and Antarctic is expanding rapidly. The industry has moved beyond its infancy, and is now entering a maturing phase with increased numbers and types of vessels, more demanding routes, and more regular and predictable patterns of activity. The increase in cruise activities, and the associated risks of accidents, as well as the potential and actual impacts of the large numbers of tourists in the polar regions bring with it management challenges for sustainable use of these regions. This book discusses critically the issues around environmental and social sustainability of the cruise industry in Polar Regions. Authors from Canada, USA, Europe, Australia and New Zealand are experts in their respective fields and take an innovative, critical and at times controversial approach to the subject.
Dynamic natural events and human activities in the Polar Regions are having a significant combined impact on these fragile environments, as well as on communities in populated regions of the Arctic. This publication describes the key features of the Polar Region environment and assesses the multiple roles and impacts of tourism activities in both the Arctic and Antarctica. It proposes an agenda for sustainable tourism development, and outlines principles, guidelines and selected good practices to conserve these unique wilderness areas through the regulation and management of tourism.
This open access book presents the most current research results and knowledge from five multidisciplinary themes: Vulnerability of Arctic Environments, Vulnerability of Arctic Societies, Local and Traditional Knowledge, Building Long-term Human Capacity, New Markets for the Arctic, including tourism and safety. The themes are those discussed at the first ever UArctic Congress Science Section, St. Petersburg, Russia, September 2016. The book looks at the Arctic from a holistic perspective; how the environment (both marine and terrestrial) and communities can adapt and manage the changes due to climate change. The chapters provide examples of the state-of-the-art research, bringing together both scientific and local knowledge to form a comprehensive and cohesive volume. Except where otherwise noted, this book is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
The seasonal nature of tourism is increasingly receiving the attention of various actors: tourism destination planners and economic development strategists at all levels, tour operators and the diverse businesses that significantly depend on tourism, and the host communities who negotiate tourism’s potential to have both positive and negative impacts. The research report at hand identifies and discusses four main perspectives on the issues of seasonal tourism in the Arctic: local community perspectives; employment and workforce issues; the Arctification of northern tourism; and global environmental change. These themes form the key issues around which the challenges and opportunities related to seasonality of tourism can be placed and worked with. Based on the discussion, the report outlines recommendations related to developing a thriving and sustainable tourism sector in Arctic Europe.
In the late 18th century explorers and scientists started venturing into the Arctic in a heroic and sometimes deadly effort to understand and unveil the secrets of the unforgiving and mysterious polar region of the high north. Despite that the Arctic was already populated mattered less for the first wave of polar researchers and explorations who nevertheless, brought back valuable knowledge. Today the focus in Arctic science and discourse has changed to one which includes the peoples and societies, and their interaction with the world beyond. The image of a static Arctic - heralded first by explorers - prevailed for a long time, but today the eyes of the World see the Arctic very differently. Few, if any, other places on Earth are currently experiencing the kind of dramatic change witnessed in the Arctic. According to model forecasts, these changes are likely to have profound implications on biophysical and human systems, and will accelerate in the decades to come. “The New Arctic” highlights how, and in what parts, the natural and political system is being transformed. We’re talking about a region where demography, culture, and political and economic systems are increasingly diverse, although many common interests and aspects remain; and with the new Arctic now firmly placed in a global context. Settlements range from small, predominantly indigenous communities, to large industrial cities, and all have a link to the surrounding environment, be it glaciers or vegetation or the ocean itself. “The New Arctic” contributes to our further understanding of the changing Arctic. It offers a range of perspectives, which reflect the deep insight of a variety of scientific scholars across many disciplines bringing a wide range of expertise. The book speaks to a broad audience, including policy-makers, students and scientific colleagues.
This book is a printed edition of the Special Issue "Sustainable Tourism and Natural Resource Conservation in the Polar Regions" that was published in Resources
Concerns over vanishing destinations such as the Great Barrier Reef, Antarctica, and the ice cap on Mt. Kilimanjaro have prompted some travel operators and tour agencies to recommend these destinations to consumers before they disappear. This travel trend has been reported as: ‘disappearing tourism,’ ‘doom tourism,’ and most commonly ‘last chance tourism’ where tourists explicitly seek vanishing landscapes or seascapes, and/or disappearing natural and/or social heritage. However, despite this increasing form of travel there has been little examination in the academic literature of last chance tourism phenomenon. This is the first book to empirically examine and evaluate this contemporary tourism development providing a new angle on the effects of global change and pressures of visitation on tourism destinations. It aims to develop the conceptual definition of last chance tourism, examine the ethics surrounding this type of travel, and provide case studies highlighting this form of tourism in different regions, and in different contexts. In particular it critically reviews the advantages of publicizing vulnerable destinations to raise awareness and promote conservation efforts. Conversely, the book draws attention to the issue of attracting more tourists seeking to undergo such experiences before they are gone forever, accelerating the negative impacts. It further examines current trends, discusses escalating challenges, provides management strategies, and highlights future research opportunities. Last Chance Tourism is a timely and multi-disciplinary volume featuring contributions from leading scholars in the fields of leisure, tourism, anthropology, geography, and sociology. It draws on a range of international case studies and will be of interest to students, researchers and academics interested in Tourism, Environmental Studies and Development Studies.
