Explores the relationship between tourism and climate change in both Arctic and Antarctic polar regions by considering the associated environmental, economic, social and political factors. This book draws on both Arctic and Antarctic Polar region case studies to help illustrate these climate change issues.

New Issues in Polar Tourism traces and analyzes a decade of growing interest in the polar regions, and the consequent challenges and opportunities of increasing tourist traffic in formerly remote and seldom-visited places. The book arises from the recently-formed International Polar Tourism Research Network (IPTRN), and documents the outcomes of its 2010 conference, held at Sweden’s Abisko Scientific Research Station.

Dynamic natural events and human activities in the Polar Regions are having a significant combined impact on these fragile environments, as well as on communities in populated regions of the Arctic. This publication describes the key features of the Polar Region environment and assesses the multiple roles and impacts of tourism activities in both the Arctic and Antarctica. It proposes an agenda for sustainable tourism development, and outlines principles, guidelines and selected good practices to conserve these unique wilderness areas through the regulation and management of tourism.

Seminar paper from the year 2011 in the subject Tourism - Miscellaneous, grade: 1,2, , language: English, abstract: Wild bears, double‐digit minus degrees and no comfortable luxury hotel within the range of vision‐ Polar Regions may not look like typical mass tourism destinations. But in fact – they are! For many years, people have been travelling by ship to the coldest regions at the end of the world for watching the abundance of wildlife and the great beauty of these unpopulated continents. The Polar Regions are significant in global environmental change as they both are affected by climate change and influence global climate change. Climate change is expected to be greatest in Polar Regions: more rapid warming is predicted for the Arctic than for any other destination. This increased publicity of Arctic climate change and global warming has created an unimaginable growth of natural tourism. Hundreds and thousands of people are now travelling for watching how ice is melting and animals are suffering for life. The aim of this seminar paper is to examine aspects of a cold tourist destination and to deal critically with the impacts of tourism on Polar Regions. Therefore I am going to concentrate my focus on the following questions: – What is polar tourism and how does it develop? – How do both climate change and tourism affect Polar Regions? – What are the reasons for increased polar tourism? Therefore, the polar region is described in detail and the phenomenon of polar tourism is introduced. After a short description of cruise tourism in Polar Regions, special emphasis is put on the impacts of both climate change and tourists on the Arctic and Antarctic. Besides, the motivation for travelling to Polar Regions is explained and the polar bears viewing industry is examined.

Tourism throughout the world raises environmental issues that are often concerned with conflicting rights and responsibilities: the inherent right of mankind to travel, the no-less inherent right of indigenous people to guard their environmental heritage, and the responsibility of governments - local, national or (in the unique case of Antarctica) international - to protect environments over which they exercise stewardship. Additionally, the presence of international commercial enterprises, especially marine and other mass transport modes, represent unique governance challenges. This book deals mainly with environmental issues and the management implications arising from polar tourism, one of the fastest-growing sectors of world tourism. However, many of the issues discussed here arise no less urgently in temperate and tropical wilderness areas, and indeed in any region where sensitive environments are subjected to mass tourism. The principles and guidelines discussed here are of interest and practical use in tourism studies generally. "Readers of this book embark on a stimulating journey into the world of polar tourism. With a focus on management aspects and environmental implications, the intricacies of polar tourism are discussed in an educated and thoughtful manner. Further conceptual background is provided on wilderness and cultural tourism to enable an informed assessment of the framework within which polar tourism operates. A powerful concluding chapter applies the technique of Multiple Resource Management Planning to polar tourism. This book is a valuable resource for students, academics and policy-makers alike." Daniela Liggett, Gateway Antarctica, University of Canterbury, New Zealand