Tourist pressure grows

On New Year's Eve, one of the world's largest aircraft, a Qantas Airbus A380 will set off for a 9,000 kilometre round trip over the Antarctic for tourists to enjoy the spectacular scenery. These tourists will leave a very large carbon footprint, even without landing on the continent, but there is additional, increasing concern about the growing pressure from cruise ships and other tourists wishing to visit this vast continent. Twenty years ago the high latitudes were still essentially the territory of explorers. Today, the picture has changed dramatically. Tourism in the Antarctica has never been so popular — 37,800 people visited in the past southern hemisphere summer. And, while the melting of the Arctic ice is breathtaking in its speed, and worrying scientists, it has let cruise ships head further north than ever before. But tourism to both extremes of the earth looks set to become a great deal more tightly regulated. This year is the 50 th anniversary of the signing of the Antarctic Treaty by 45 nations, which committed leading powers to work in cooperation in Antarctica and declare the region " a natural reserve, devoted to peace and science ". A continent far larger than Australia is a human home to just a few research stations, mostly around the periphery. Visitors may be forgiven at times for how much value is still placed on the treaty nation goals. The last Worries are growing about the impact of burgeoning numbers of tourists at the poles. Nigel Williams reports. Stranded: The former ice-breaker, Kapitan Khlebnikov, now converted to a cruise ship, still managed to get stuck in ice last month while taking tourists to see a penguin colony. (Picture: Alamy.)