At Swoop, we firmly believe that tourism can have a positive impact on both people and the planet, and that protecting the destinations we travel to should be at the heart of everything we do. As well as being a registered B Corp, we’re proud to be associate members of the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators (IAATO), which promotes responsible tourism to Antarctica.
IAATO was formed in 1991, partly in response to the signing that year of the Environmental Protocol of the Antarctic Treaty, the body that governs how the continent is managed. The original IAATO founders recognised the need for tourism to Antarctica to be managed responsibly and to encourage best practices across a growing industry. To find out more, we spoke to IAATO’s Interim Executive Director, and Director of Operations & Government Affairs, Lisa Kelley.
Environmental concerns
Prior to joining IAATO, Kelley spent 16 seasons in Antarctica, working first as a guide and then as an Expedition Leader. ‘I really wanted to be part of the bigger picture for the protection of Antarctica,’ she says, explaining how she came to finish her time on the ice. Now, she gets to see it through other people’s eyes. ‘That profound impact when people first see Antarctica is breathtaking to watch,’ she says – and explains that that reaction is exactly what IAATO hopes people retain from their Antarctic experience.
‘Done properly, tourism is a great force for good. It can really inspire people to be ambassadors – not just about Antarctica, but also take those lessons home with them. We are of course aware of concerns about loving something to death by visitation. That’s why it’s so important to work with strict protected measures, whether it be through protocols or guidelines or IAATO’s work directly with the Antarctic Treaty parties.’
It’s a key point. Kelley is keen to stress that just because Antarctica doesn’t belong to any one nation, that doesn’t mean that tourism there is a free-for-all.
‘All of our operators have to have a permit or authorization from a national competent authority, which means they’ve gone through an environmental impact process. The authorities have looked really critically at their protocols around their wildlife watching and how they run their landings, usually taking them directly from IAATO.’ It’s an assessment that IAATO continues for all new members. On joining, all operators receive an onboard observation from IAATO to become a full member.
Managing shore landings
As well as working directly with its members, IAATO are also ‘invited experts’ to the Antarctic Treaty, allowing them to feed back on day to day management issues in the field, such as how tourism might impact certain landing sites. While the visitor experience in Antarctica is one of complete wilderness, this can only happen because of strict guidelines as to how landings can take place – choosing landing spots for zodiacs to prevent potential disturbance of wildlife for example, restricting access to certain historic sites and marking with flags areas where it’s safe to walk. These guidelines fall under the remit of the Antarctic Treaty.
‘We take part in the landing site guideline review, which the Antarctic Treaty parties are scheduled to do every five years,’ says Kelley, to ensure that they are still fit for purpose. In parallel, IAATO creates its own site guidelines as part of its strategic plan.
‘It’s important that we look practically at our own management of sites – not only for the environmental protection of those sites that are visited. By giving good concrete data to [Expedition Leaders] in the field, they can know how to manage the expectations of their guests, but also manage the landings better.’
IAATO’s reporting system has proved so successful that the Antarctic Treaty has asked them to give more feedback on landing sites each season. ‘It’s a really great way that we can help each other continue to manage and keep everything as environmentally safe as possible.’
Growing tourist numbers
During the 2023/24 visitor season, IAATO recorded just over 122,000 visitors to Antarctica, with almost all of these around the Antarctic Peninsula. While that number sounds large, it’s fewer than half the number of visitors received by the Galapagos Islands in the same period, and a tiny fraction of the more than five million visitors received by Grand Canyon National Park in the USA.
Furthermore, just under two thirds (78,000) actually stepped foot on Antarctica itself. The remainder only saw the continent as a scenic backdrop. Ships that carry over 500 passengers by are banned from landing people on shore altogether. Despite the fears of some outsiders, there is no prospect of mega cruise ships swamping penguin colonies with thousands of tourists. For smaller ships, the Antarctic Treaty guidelines for landing sites insist that only 100 people (plus guides) can be on shore at any one time, with a maximum of two visits to any individual site per day.
As a non-profit trade body, IAATO doesn’t take a position on whether or not there should be a cap on the total number of visitors to the Antarctic Peninsula. ‘This is a question that is often asked at the Treaty level,’ says Kelley, but adds that IAATO’s feedback mechanism for landing sites means that its members are quick to jump on concerns at particular landing sites.
‘Let’s say there was a path being formed at a certain landing site,’ she says, discussing potential erosion due to over tourism. ‘As IAATO, we can address that in day-to-day management and create further guidelines a little bit more quickly than can be done on the treaty level right now. We can create protocols to shut down this walking area for the rest of the season. It’s our responsibility to continue to report these to the Treaty organisations, but also as stewards of Antarctica for us to take the appropriate actions to protect it as much as possible so that we never have anything more than a transitory impact.’
The carbon question
Like any responsible tourism organisation, IAATO is keen to look at the carbon footprint of its members and has a climate change committee that is actively seeking to bring positive change to the industry (for full disclosure, the CEO and founder of Swoop is a member of this committee).
IAATO members have committed to halving their greenhouse gas emissions compared to 2008 and achieve net zero before 2050, in line with targets agreed by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). The newest generation of hybrid expedition cruise ships is a big step forward in that, alongside new commitments by some operators to switch synthetic fuel produced from green hydrogen and recycled CO2.
To better track the emissions created by Antarctic cruise ships, from 2022 every IAATO member has to submit their fuel data, so it can be analysed by an outside company in order to direct future policy. IAATO is also working with stakeholders in the Antarctic gateway cities such as Ushuaia where dockside improvements (such as battery charging for ships) might help bring about further positive change.
Kelley acknowledges that this is a complex issue. ‘We’re aware there are some things that might be criticised as greenwashing, so we want to make sure that any work that’s done within the climate change committee is as open and transparent as possible.’
As we close our conversation, Kelley is keen to emphasise that for all the work that IAATO does to ensure that Antarctic tourism takes place in the most environmentally responsible way possible, it’s also important not to forget the magical draw it has on so many people.
‘Antarctica is such a changeable place. We love those blue sky days, but also those moody days where the weather can change itineraries and lead you to something absolutely unexpected. It’s an amazing place, and we’re so privileged to go and visit. As a visitor, the best thing to take with you is an open mind.’
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