Talk:International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators

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Though I did not create the article, I still felt uncomfortable just removing the tag. I will leave that to another editior if they are in agreement. I reworded the opening to eliminate the copyright violation and added some sources. In addition, I am still reviewing the reference material and should be able to make even a stronger claim to notability over the next day or two. Thanks ShoesssS Talk 04:28, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

About the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO)

IAATO is a member organization founded in 1991 to advocate and promote the practice of safe and environmentally responsible private sector travel to Antarctica.

The International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) is an international member association, comprising over 110 companies and organizations from all over the world. The membership consists of approximately 60 operators, who organize and conduct expeditions to Antarctica. Another 60 companies – comprising travel agents, ship agents and conservation groups that work within the Antarctic community – have chosen to join as non-operating members of the Association because they wish to support the mission and vision of the organization.

Membership in IAATO offers not only mutual support among its members, but also a host of services that are directed by its administrative team, the IAATO Secretariat. Led by its Executive Director, this team of paid staff, supported by many volunteers from amongst the membership, provides a wide range of beneficial services covering tourism operations, environmental issues and relations with external stakeholders.

The annual meeting, which usually lasts three days, is supported through the work of a network of committees and working groups that deal with specific projects and provide guidance to the association´s Secretariat. Members of committees and working groups are volunteers who are nominated at the annual meeting and appointed by vote. A rotation system provides opportunities for members to serve on a number of committees and become acquainted with various aspects of the organization.

The Executive Committee provides both a leadership role for the strategic direction of IAATO and also overseeing and guiding the Secretariat to ensure that it is functioning efficiently.

Additional committees are actively involved in defining and addressing both Antarctic specific and traditional association issues: Finance; Membership; Accreditation; Compliance and Dispute; Gateway; and Yacht.

How is IAATO financed?

IAATO is funded entirely by its members and receives no outside funding. In addition to fixed membership dues, variable fees are levied depending on the numbers of passengers carried.

IAATO´ vision

Through self-regulation, Antarctic tourism is a sustainable, safe activity that causes no more than a minor or transitory impact on the environment and creates a corps of ambassadors for the continued protection of Antarctica.

Tourism in Antarctica

Antarctica is unique in many ways. The extreme seasonal variation creates a distinctive ecosystem with endemic plants and animals that have developed extraordinary physiological systems to cope with the intense climatic conditions that are too inhospitable for a native human population. There is nowhere else on earth where so many of the animals have not learned to be afraid of humans. Antarctica is also politically unique because, unlike any other landmass, and perhaps more akin to the oceans there is no formal central government of Antarctica. The international community does not recognize any nation´s territorial land claims. Antarctica and the surrounding Southern Ocean south of Lat. 60º is governed by the group of nations that are signatories to the Antarctic Treaty. As such, the entire continent has been declared a natural reserve dedicated to peace and science.

Tourism is one of three main human activities in Antarctica, along with science and fishing. Science is regarded by the Treaty Parties as the most important activity given the significance of the Antarctic to the global understanding of natural sciences. However, tourism is notable in that it accounts for the largest number of people setting foot on the continent every year. To date there has been minimal direct impact from tourists on the environment. This is largely because a coalition of Antarctic tour operators has worked for 25 years to develop a system of self-regulation and management to protect this last great wilderness for future generations. The members of this coalition, the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO), are driven by a passion for the environment and an awareness of how fortunate they and their guests are to visit and work in this unique environment.

Tourism in Antarctica has rapidly increased in recent decades. In terms of technical practice and visitor guidance, the management of the tour operators is seemingly determining whether tourism has a negative of positive impact on the environment. Antarctica receives relatively few visitors compared to many other wilderness destinations. Nevertheless, IAATO has actively assisted Treaty Parties to develop sound and practical guidelines for the most-visited sites in Antarctica. Over the past years, IAATO has proposed a number of guidelines and procedures that members should follow, in conjunction to its internal by-laws, some of which have constituted the basis for the Antarctic Treaty System´s (ATS) own regulations (Jabour 2014). Until today, there has been virtually no observed impact of more than a minor or transitory nature to the continent. This is largely because the coalition of Antarctic tour operators has worked for over two decades to develop a system of self-regulation and management to protect this last great wilderness for future generations. Over the last 25 years, IAATO has shown that with careful management it is possible to tread softly on the White Continent. Working together under the umbrella of IAATO, competing tour operators and supporting companies, played an important and significant role in the conservation and management of Antarctica.

History

When IAATO was founded as a member organization back in 1991, only seven Antarctic tour operators were present. These had been operating expeditions to Antarctica for several years already, when the signing of the Antarctic Environmental Protocol in early 1991 by the Antarctic Treaty nations established rigorous standards beyond those already outlined in the Antarctic Treaty of 1959. These standards designated Antarctica as a “natural reserve dedicated to peace and science”. The Protocol provided the framework for the continued protection of the Antarctic environment. By joining together, the companies were able to pool resources and lobby their national governments to develop substantive regulations and guidelines compatible with the best practices that were already being followed in the field. In the meantime, IAATO has grown to include over 120 member companies from all over the world. The membership directory can be found at www.iaato.org.

IAATO is dedicated to facilitating appropriate, safe and environmentally sound private-sector travel to the Antarctic, to represent its members to the Antarctic Treaty Parties, the international conservation community and the public at large. The association has circulated and promoted the General Guidelines for Visitors to the Antarctic as adopted by the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties under Resolution 3 (2011) and Guidance for Those Organizing and Conducting Tourism and Non-Governmental Activities in The Antarctic, as adopted by the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties under Recommendation XVIII-1 (1994). Members subscribe to the principle that their planned activities will have no more than a minor or transitory impact on the environment. IAATO fosters cooperation among its members and provides a forum for the international, private-sector travel industry to share expertise, opinions and best practices. This also includes employment by the membership of the best qualified staff and field personnel through acceptance of evaluation, certification and accreditation programs for Antarctic personnel. Since 2010, IAATO has represented all passenger vessels operating in Antarctic waters under the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS).

At the same time, another important objective for IAATO is to enhance public awareness and concern for the conservation of the Antarctic environment and its associated ecosystems and to better inform the media, governments and environmental organizations about private-sector travel to these regions. IAATO tries to create a corps of ambassadors for the continued protection of Antarctica by offering the opportunity to experience the continent first hand. Already back in 1966, the concept of expedition cruise coupled with education as a major theme, began with Lars-Eric Lindblad, who sailed an ice-strengthened tourist vessel to Antarctica during austral summers. Since then, the idea of educational voyages has been upheld by IAATO members. Powel et. Al. (2008) conducted two complementary studies to research both the immediate and longer-term influence of Antarctic cruise tourism experiences on participant´s knowledge of Antarctica, attitudes toward management issues facing the Antarctic region, and environmental behaviors as well as future intentions. In addition, the study investigated tourist´s attitudes toward visitor guidelines. The results suggest that Antarctica nature-based tourism operators have the potential to provide experiences that educate the public to the importance of Antarctica. The authors agree that the mission of creating ambassadors has been a success.

At the same time, IAATO has grown to become a valued partner, when it comes to environmental monitoring and providing details about tourism in Antarctica. IAATO provides ATCM and the Committee for Environmental Protection (CEP) with detailed information on member activities in Antarctica and works collaboratively with scientific institutions particularly on long term environmental monitoring and educational outreach. In addition to being and invited expert of the ATCM, IAATO also actively works with the CEP, when it comes to consider the effective implementation of the Protocol on Environmental Protection. IAATO has initiated a large number of operating procedures, which have fed into the CEP´s work. The organization also has strong relationships with the five Maritime Rescue Coordination Centres (MRCC) and Air Rescue Coordination Centres (ARCC) with responsibility in Antarctica. IAATO also participates as an observer at the annual Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs (COMNAP) and increasingly IAATO members are contracted by some national operators to assist with their logistic support for scientific programs. Effective tourism management is a collaborative effort amongst Antarctic stakeholders and overall most might agree that tourism can be sustainable if the strict by-laws that have been compiled by the umbrella organization IAATO are followed by all visitors. IAATO´s primary mission is to conduct environmentally responsible, private-sector travel to Antarctica, and educate passengers in the process. Protection of the environment and adherence to Antarctic Treaty regulations and conventions are mandatory, and tour operators have shown to follow them as a dedicated group (Splettstoesser 2000).

Visitor numbers

IAATO members enable around 40,000 travelers to visit Antarctica each season. Of these, the vast majority are passengers landing from expedition ships visiting the Antarctic Peninsula while several hundred fly into Deep-field continental destinations, visit the Peninsula by yacht or cruise to East Antarctica and the Ross Sea from New Zealand or Australia. Another 9,000 cruise-only visitors ply the waters of the Peninsula annually without making landings.

Who is visiting Antarctica?

In the early days most tourists were from North America and other English-speaking countries, but in recent years there have been increasing numbers of visitors from emerging markets such as China and South Korea. Evidence collected from IAATO operators indicates that the demographics of Antarctic visitors are heavily influenced by global socio-economic factors, such as a nation´s gross domestic product. (www.IAATO.org)

Concerns about tourism in Antarctica

Lately, Antarctic Treaty Parties can be heard demanding that a strategic approach to tourism should be developed. They are concerned that the industry might be increasing and diversifying faster than the ATCM could regulate its activities. A strategic approach to a legitimate activity, such as tourism, should consider the question of and ultimately define the kind of tourism the Treaty Parties would want to see in Antarctica. It should focus not only on the problems raised by Antarctic tourism, but also be proactive in providing pathways for solving those problems. At the same time though, a strategic approach would need to remain broad enough to be able to provide consistency in treatment, with the ability to focus and apply that approach to specific areas of concern as they arise. Finally, any strategic approach should always be framed by the values expressed in Article 3 of the Environmental Protocol, namely the protection of the Antarctic environment for its aesthetic, wilderness and scientific values.

There are already a number of regulations in place for Antarctic tourism. However, today there is a debate if the existing regulatory framework is still fit for purpose, and parties might have to be open to discussing and considering the adoption of new instruments, legally binding or otherwise, to address the diversification of tourist activities (Schillat 2016). And as the debate unfolds tourism is not likely to leave the center stage of discussions in amongst Antarctic Treaty Parties, the international conservation community and the public at large.

References

Jabour, J. 2014 Strategic management and regulations of antarctic tourism. In: T. Tin, D. Liggett, P. Maher, & M. Lamers (Ed.), Antarctic Futures: Human Engagement with the Antarctic Environment (pp. 273-286). Springer.

Powell, R., Kellert, S., Ham, S. 2008, Antarctic tourists: ambassadors or consumers? In: Polar Record, Vol. 44, issue 3 (pp. 233-241).

Schillat, M. (Ed.) 2016 Tourism in Antarctica, A Multidisciplinary View of New Activities Carried out on the White Continent, Springer.

Spletstoesser, J. 2000, IAATO´s stewardship of Antarctic environment: A history of tour operator´s concern for a vulnerable part of the world. International Journal of Tourism Research, 2 (1), (pp. 47-55)

— Preceding unsigned comment added by Monika Schillat (talk • contribs) 20:39, 24 November 2016 (UTC)