ABSTRACT
Introduction For several centuries the polar regions have been the focus of activities of people originating from outside these regions, including explorers, whalers, seal hunters, and scientists. Their activities have left many material remains in the polar landscape such as supply depots, huts and shelters, industrial remains, research stations, and crosses, graves and other memorials. These and similar cultural remains are signifi cant, among other reasons, because they tell the history of polar exploration and exploitation of the polar regions. Following on those earlier activities, contemporary polar tourism represents a new phase in the ‘exploration’ and exploitation of the polar regions. Many signifi cant historic sites in Antarctica and Svalbard have now become tourist ‘destinations’, where tourism landings are a seasonal feature (e.g. Hughes 1994; Hughes and Davis 1995; Geitz 2004; Roura 2009).
