ABSTRACT
The polar regions have long fascinated explorers and researchers, from the early adventures of explorers, such as Shackleton, Scott and Amundsen, to modern day scientists who have access with modern military aircraft to research stations such as McMurdo Station and Scott Base in Antarctica, and Alert and Ice Station Barneo in the Arctic. Tourism to these remote and hostile environments has a much shorter history; however, the polar tourism sector has increased rapidly over the past two decades. Climate change is affecting these regions to a large extent and, in turn, has repercussions for tourism (Maher, 2008). In fact, some argue that tourism will increase in the form of ‘last chance tourism’ or ‘doom tourism’, where people rush to see places before they disappear. A particular case in point is polar bear viewing in Churchill, Manitoba, where polar bear populations are feared to rapidly decline due to the effects of climate change (Lemelin et al, in press). On the other hand, tourism to the polar regions may become easier due to a lack of ice and generally milder conditions – so much so that some of the main attractions, such as icebergs and wildlife that are dependent upon them, are not guaranteed to be seen at all times (Schwabe, 2008). This may have an adverse effect on visitor satisfaction (Maher, in press) and demand (Stewart et al, 2007). In order to raise awareness, and better understand the climatic processes in the polar regions, the Fourth International Polar Year (IPY) was proclaimed by the International Council for Science (ICSU) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) as a large scientific programme focused on the Arctic and the Antarctic from March 2007 to March 2009 (ICSU and WMO, 2009). As we have commented elsewhere (Maher et al, in press; Maher and Stewart, 2007), unfortunately there was an overall lack of tourism-related research projects under the auspices of the IPY; but as the collection of chapters in this book indicates, critical issues about polar tourism, and polar cruise tourism in particular, are becoming important and active areas of research.
