In the 2023-2024 Antarctic tourism cruise season, a record 9,384 Chinese tourists visited Antarctica, according to data from IAATO. And this coming season, 24-25 the Hurtigruten cruise line, according to its Shanghai sales office is expecting 600 Chinese tourists to visit the Arctic Islands and more than 1,400 Antarctica.
The International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) has announced a series of enhanced responsible tourism measures and short-term priorities as its members prepare for the 2024-25 season in Antarctica. According to a press release, these actions were agreed upon during the association’s annual meeting in Annapolis, United States, in late April.
Data collected by tour companies operating in Antarctica is bolstering conservation measures for whales and seals along the region’s Peninsula, according to a piece by Travel and Tour World news site.
The Royal Navy Ice Patrol HMS Protector took scientists on an Antarctic research cruise to analyze the increasing impact of tourism and climate change on the frozen continent, a challenge which has been underlined by IAATO, the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators. IAATO has pointed out that during the 2022/23 season more than 104,000 visitors traveled to Antarctica.
The consequences of increased tourism and pollution in Antarctica, are two of the tasks the Royal Navy Ice Patrol HMS Protector will be checking during this month in the frozen continent. For this purpose it has invited two scientists from the University of Portsmouth, Professor Fay Couceiro and Dr. Clare Boston.
Chimu Adventures’ Managing Director Chad Carey has joined the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) Climate Change Committee to help improve sustainability in the Antarctic tourism space, according to a statement.
The International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators welcomed five provisional operators and eight associates. Bunker One A/S, Freestyle Adventure Travel, South America Shipping, UnWild Planet Travel and Polar Tourism Guides Association were approved by IAATO members during an inter-session vote at the end of 2022 while Avila Reizen, Falkland Islands Development Corp. and Summit Aviation were voted in at the organization's recent annual meeting in Hamburg.
By Jen Rose Smith (*) – Even after Captain James Cook first sailed below the Antarctic Circle 250 years ago, icily inhospitable Antarctica stayed quiet for a long, long time. The only continent with no native human population, it remained a place apart, where occasional expeditions and intrepid researchers contended with harsh and sometimes deadly conditions.
On the anniversary of the signing of the Antarctic Treaty, December first 1959, the Antarctic Fellowship Recipients have been announced. The annual fellowships awarded by the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) the Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs (COMNAP) and the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR), are an investment in the professional development of talented early career researchers and aim to further the understanding of human presence in Antarctica.
Members of the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) will for the first time submit seasonal fuel consumption data to the Association’s secretariat as part of a unanimous pledge to create a climate change strategy for Antarctic tourism.