Assessing tourists’ environmental perceptions and behavior prior to and during landings in the Antarctic Peninsula

Background/Question/Methods Antarctica has remained a continent relatively untouched by humans until recent times. A sharp rise in tourism travel to the Antarctic Peninsula over the past 20 years has raised the concern that humans may negatively impact sensitive heritage, geological, and ecological sites. The purpose of our research project was to study behaviors of tourists entering this fragile and pristine environment, and to assess the drivers that lead tourists to Antarctica, the activities that they partake in, and determine whether or not stricter environmental management needs to be established to protect sensitive landing sites from the impacts of tourism.  Methods used to conduct our study included a pre- and post survey of tourist perceptions, GPS tracking of tourist movements, interests, and disturbances, photo-documentation of tourist activities, and GIS as a tool to map such activities. Disturbances measured included approaching wildlife within a 5-m limit, littering, or walking across sensitive moss beds. All data were collected during a 10-day tourist expedition aboard the M/V Lyubov Orlova in December 2007, which included landings at 4 sites in the South Shetland Islands and 4 sites on and near the Antarctic Peninsula

Results/Conclusions Observations of tourist movements at landing sites indicated that wildlife was the most significantly attractive feature to tourists. Approximately 87% of surveyed tourists believed that human presence would impact the wildlife; however, field data showed that out of 26 disturbances observed, over 50% of these involved tourists approaching wildlife closer than recommended by the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators (IAATO). Nonetheless, disturbances were rare and tourists found within 5-m of wildlife often were approached by curious penguins, and purposeful disobedience of IAATO regulations appeared to account for a small proportion of these disturbances. Our study is one of a kind in observing and tracking tourist movement and activity throughout the landing sites. Results from this study could be used to develop a comprehensive mananagement plan to aid Antarctic expedition companies that follow IAATO guidelines regarding environmental and wildlife impacts to avoid negative impact of tourism on landing sites that are visited with increasing frequency or that have sensitive environmental features.