Dr Kim Crosbie, IAATO Executive Director, and IAATO Member Jérôme Poncet of Golden Fleece Expeditions who is a resident of the Falkland Islands, have been awarded the Queen’s Polar Medal. The announcement was made last week in The London Gazette.
Field staff from the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operations (IAATO) and the Association of Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators (AECO) got together in Toronto last month in the first Polar field staff conference ever held. Seventy-five people attended over the three days representing 24 IAATO/AECO members, three governments, three universities and the World Wildlife Fund.
The International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) announced the appointment of Tudor Morgan to the full-time position of Environmental Manager. Tudor’s overall role is to support safe and environmentally responsible tourism to Antarctica, with a particular focus on field operations.
The Association of Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators (AECO) and the International Association for Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO), in cooperation with Lindblad Expeditions, have found a way for cruise operators to share years of depth soundings from the Arctic and Antarctica.
Claudia Holgate, Environmental Manager for the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO), has decided to step down from the position, which has grown to become full time.
During the upcoming Antarctic season, from November through March, 36,545 tourists are expected to visit, according to estimates compiled by the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO). That’s a slight dip from the 37,405 who visited in 2013-14, which was a 9 percent increase from the previous year.
The International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) met in Providence, Rhode Island from 27-29 May for their 25th gathering of members and as at previous meetings, the goal was to review the past year and discuss current and future issues for the Antarctic tourism industry in line with the association’s mission to advocate, promote and practice safe and environmentally responsible tourism.
The International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) and two IAATO Member Operators, Aurora Expeditions and Oceanwide Expeditions, took part in a live Search and Rescue Communications Exercise in collaboration with the Maritime Rescue Coordination Center (MRCC) Ushuaia, Argentina.
An IAATO sailing yacht has demonstrated that private and commercial vessels on expeditions in Antarctica can perform official hydrographic surveys and produce navigational charts that are still much needed for the region. Results were presented at the 13th Conference of the Hydrographic Commission on Antarctica (HCA) in Cadiz, Spain 3-5 December, hosted by the Spanish Navy.