| Abstract: | After a relatively slow start in the 1950s and 1960s, shipborne tourism in Antarctica has become a regular activity, with about 89 000 visitors to date (through the 1997–1998 austral summer). Recognising the need for standardisation of operating procedures that would protect the vulnerable environment, tour operators initiated codes of conduct in the 1980s. In 1991 the existing seven tour operators formed the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO), the objective being to act as a single voice to advocate, promote and practice safe and environmentally responsible private‐sector travel in Antarctica. Since then, Antarctic Treaty Parties passed Recommendation XVIII‐1 in 1994, expanding the operator's guidelines into a comparable and formal version. Associated with that, a Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty has become effective, initiating formal application and permitting requirements that affect both tourism and scientific activities. The implications of the Protocol on the tourism industry are discussed and analysed. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
