Tourism in a Unique Destination

Abstract

Tourism in Antarctica has been dynamically developed in recent decades, although it is located in a small geographical part of continent. The main reason that visitors plan a trip to the destination, when the opportunity is given, is the natural landscape and wildlife. In addition, overheating of the planet that causes ice to melt has enhanced the feeling of fear as there is severe environmental concern for the coming years. Space and seasonal exclusions make it even more special and the tourist product which is offered by this continent is expensive and requires a lot of preparation. Tourism activity in such a fragile environment has sparked several reactions in the past, mainly from the scientific community, as it is the main recipient of the negative effects of tourism. Furthermore, organized efforts have been made so that the offered product will promote more environmentally friendly trips that will affect the ecosystem as little as possible. The main objective of this research is to analyze this kind of tourism because of the need for new forms. The positive and negative impacts that tourism can have on the environment and the statistics on arrivals and countries of origin of tourists in recent years are analyzed. Moreover, the tourist packages that seem to be in the greatest demand of visitors are presented. The main research question of this paper is whether this destination can host intense tourism activity. Following an extensive bibliographic review, the research makes it clear that the study area cannot support strong tourism activity even though future tourism forecasts report an additional increase in arrivals.