For

many centuries, Antarctica has captured the interest of scientists and explorers alike. These days, the
tourism industry seeks to also share these wonders with the public through touristic ventures.


However, tourism to Antarctica is not recommended


as it will further aggravate the already fragile environment, inevitably lead to economic exploitation that
will undermine conservation efforts, and needlessly compromise important scientific pursuits.



To begin with,


tourism to Antarctica will further exacerbate the delicate environment and should therefore not be
supported.


Research presented in the May 2016 report, compiled by Dr Phil Anderson from the Climate Data
Collection Organisation, suggests that [t]he environment in Antarctica is very fragile and can easily be
damaged. Since Antarctica currently has 61% of Earths fresh water, pollution and degradation of this
precious environment should be avoided at all costs in order to ensure secure water access in the future.
Nonetheless, negative impacts on the environment, made by teams of scientists who stay and study in
Antarctica with the purpose of collecting important data, are already visible.


Therefore, if tourism were to be introduced it would lead to preventable additional pollution that would
compromise the Earths largest water source and Antarcticas delicate environment. Thus, tourism to
Antarctica is not recommended.


Further still,


if tourism to Antarctica is encouraged it will lead to the inevitable prioritisation of revenue increases over
the conservation of the environment.


This view is indirectly supported by Paul Jefferies, Chair of the Finance Advisory Board and contributor to
the Journal of Money. Jefferies believes that tourism presents a big opportunity to increase revenue, and
that permanent tourism facilities could lead to quick profit increases. However, while Jefferies suggests
that these profits could also be used to promote conservation and fund scientific research, no strong
promises are made. This demonstrates that the true priorities of the tourism industry are economic gains
rather than conservation.


Consequently, in order to ensure that Antarctica is protected from economic exploitation tourism is not
recommended.

Finally,

in order to avoid needless interruptions to critical scientific pursuits, tourism to Antarctica is not
encouraged.


According to Professor Xiao, an Arctic team Researcher and supporter of the Global Science Initiative,
Antarctica presents a wealth of opportunities for gathering important data that is critical for furthering
scientific understanding. However, the collection of such data is regularly interrupted and compromised by
tourists. Considering the millions of dollars it requires to fund such research, is it really worth the risks of
allowing additional tourists into the area? Moreover, due to the treacherous temperatures and conditions,
each time a research team has to rescue a tourist they also risk death.


Thus, for the purpose of protecting fundamental scientific research and reducing the possibility of
avoidable fatalities, tourism to Antarctica is not supported.


In conclusion,

tourism to Antarctica is not recommended.


The introduction of tourism will lead to the unnecessary aggravation and pollution of the already delicate
environment and the Earths largest fresh water source.


Furthermore, regardless of promises made by the tourism industry, it is evident that their priorities lie in
revenue raising and not conservation.


Lastly, the preservation of life and scientific pursuits can be easily protected if tourism is not encouraged.


Thus, it is evident that despite the wonders Antarctica holds, there is more to be gained if it remains free of
tourism.