Social impacts of tourism in Antarctica include the disturbance of workers. As workers and explorers are spread out all over the continent, this means that there is a high and equal chance of at least one station being interrupted by incoming tourists and vessels. As Antarctic exploration by tourism is becoming increasingly popular, workers and explorers have to tolerate the constant interference of people entering and exiting the land. This has negatively impacted the ‘locals’ or ‘temporary inhabitants’ as their work is slowed down and progress on scientific research slows down too.
However there are also positive social impacts of tourism, which include spreading awareness of the research and exploration happening in Antarctica. The more tourists that visit the region, the more people get to know about why it is used.
Economic impacts of tourism on people in Antarctica have had positive effects, such as work opportunities being created in areas for engineering, first aid, carpentry, transportation, tour guides and training instructors. At Scott Base, which is run by New Zealand, the number of people living and working from 6-13 months is usually around 35. By creating more jobs, this generates more money and as the expenditure levels on the continent are very minimal, this allows more money to be saved.
However, there have been several negative environmental impacts as a result of air and sea accidents near Antarctica. An example of an accident at sea that has negatively impacted the local environment was when, in November 2007, the M/V Explorer ship was hit and sunk by an iceberg in Bransfield Strait. This particular ship was carrying oil, gasoline and diesel, which resulted in an oil slick 1.5 km long. Luckily, none of the spill reached land and it did disperse quickly, however, although it did not reach the land of Antarctica, the spill did cause damage to ecosystems in the ocean and pollute the sea.
Another example of an accident that has negatively impacted the environment was the Mt Erebus disaster with over 257 casualties. The remains of Air New Zealand flight 901 are still on the mountain because it was too difficult to remove the large sections of the aircraft. Corpses were left to rot and it was considered the worst aircraft disaster near Antarctica with 257 fatalities. The debris and remains from the aircraft and passengers still remain on Erebus and this means it is left to deteriorate on the pure mountain, which is considered contamination. This issue impacted New Zealand’s social and economic status as the New Zealand Government and Air New Zealand had to pay fees and compensate for passengers’ families. No specific figures were released to the public, but Air New Zealand was forced to pay an extra fee of $150,000 for the inquiry into the crash.
These are both examples of negative impacts of tourism in the region. Transport is limited but large vessels or aircrafts usually carry large masses of people. The potential damage can be big or small as demonstrated by these two examples.
However there are also positive social impacts of tourism, which include spreading awareness of the research and exploration happening in Antarctica. The more tourists that visit the region, the more people get to know about why it is used.
Economic impacts of tourism on people in Antarctica have had positive effects, such as work opportunities being created in areas for engineering, first aid, carpentry, transportation, tour guides and training instructors. At Scott Base, which is run by New Zealand, the number of people living and working from 6-13 months is usually around 35. By creating more jobs, this generates more money and as the expenditure levels on the continent are very minimal, this allows more money to be saved.
However, there have been several negative environmental impacts as a result of air and sea accidents near Antarctica. An example of an accident at sea that has negatively impacted the local environment was when, in November 2007, the M/V Explorer ship was hit and sunk by an iceberg in Bransfield Strait. This particular ship was carrying oil, gasoline and diesel, which resulted in an oil slick 1.5 km long. Luckily, none of the spill reached land and it did disperse quickly, however, although it did not reach the land of Antarctica, the spill did cause damage to ecosystems in the ocean and pollute the sea.
Another example of an accident that has negatively impacted the environment was the Mt Erebus disaster with over 257 casualties. The remains of Air New Zealand flight 901 are still on the mountain because it was too difficult to remove the large sections of the aircraft. Corpses were left to rot and it was considered the worst aircraft disaster near Antarctica with 257 fatalities. The debris and remains from the aircraft and passengers still remain on Erebus and this means it is left to deteriorate on the pure mountain, which is considered contamination. This issue impacted New Zealand’s social and economic status as the New Zealand Government and Air New Zealand had to pay fees and compensate for passengers’ families. No specific figures were released to the public, but Air New Zealand was forced to pay an extra fee of $150,000 for the inquiry into the crash.
These are both examples of negative impacts of tourism in the region. Transport is limited but large vessels or aircrafts usually carry large masses of people. The potential damage can be big or small as demonstrated by these two examples.