Last chance for eternal ice? Tourist flows in the Antarctic alarm scientists

According to industry data, tourism in Antarctica has increased tenfold over the past 30 years. Visitor numbers are increasing so rapidly that scientists are warning of contamination and damage to the sensitive ecosystem.

DPA

15.05.2026, 22:58

dpa

Tourism at the South Pole is booming - not least because of concerns that the Antarctic's icy landscapes are melting irretrievably due to climate change. And experts are warning that the risk of contamination, disease and other damage is also increasing as visitor numbers rise.

The problem has become a topic of conversation following a deadly hantavirus outbreak on board a ship on a cruise through the South Pole region.

Although visitor numbers are still low - partly due to the high costs and time involved - they are rising so quickly that scientists and environmentalists are sounding the alarm.

Most expeditions go to the Antarctic Peninsula, one of the fastest warming places in the world. According to the US agency NASA, around 149 billion tons of Antarctic ice melted every year between 2002 and 2020. A common route leads south from Argentina towards Antarctica before heading north along the coast of Africa - the route that the hantavirus-affected cruise ship "MV Hondius" was also supposed to take.

"The landscapes you get to see in Antarctica are absolutely unique and can't be found anywhere else in the world - the whales, the seals, the penguins, the icebergs - it's all really breathtaking and leaves a deep impression on people," says Claire Christian, Executive Director of the Washington-based environmental organization Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition.

Explosive increase in trips to the South Pole

In 2024, according to data from the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators, more than 80,000 tourists visited the vast, ice-covered continent, with 36,000 viewing it from ships.

The International Union of Concerned Scientists estimates that tourism in Antarctica has increased tenfold in the last 30 years. This figure could continue to rise over the next decade as costs fall, more ice-going vessels enter service and technological advances are made, says Hanne Nielsen, a lecturer in Antarctic law at the University of Tasmania. Her colleagues at the university estimate that the annual number of visitors could rise to more than 400,000 during this time.

Some tourists visit Antarctica in the knowledge that the melting landscape is changing rapidly and engage in "last chance tourism", says Nielsen.

Contamination risks

The authorities have so far not mentioned any evidence of contamination from the "MV Hondius". However, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, flocks of migratory birds have brought bird flu from South America to Antarctica in recent years. This outbreak prompted the Antarctic Tour Operators Association and others to tighten the rules of conduct and hygiene for tourists in order to protect visitors from infection.

To protect the fragile ecosystem from large and microscopic invasive species, visitors are asked to stay away from animals and only touch the ground with their feet. "There are rules that people have to follow when they travel south," explains Nielsen, who has already accompanied five tours as a tour guide. Crew and passengers use vacuum cleaners, disinfectants and brushes to remove insects, feathers, seeds and germ-infested dirt from shoes and equipment.

Cruise ships have already seen outbreaks of diseases such as norovirus, which can spread quickly in the cramped conditions on board. In 2020, a Covid-19 outbreak on the Diamond Princess turned the cruise ship into an incubator for the then still mysterious virus. The hantavirus usually spreads by inhaling contaminated rodent droppings.

Island-hopping cruise on the "MV Hondius"

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently announced that the "MV Hondius" left Ushuaia in Argentina on 1 April and sailed to Antarctica and several remote islands. The WHO is currently investigating possible human-to-human transmission of the hantavirus on the cruise ship.

Antarctica is subject to the Antarctic Treaty, which established the area in 1959 as a scientific sanctuary that may only be used for peaceful purposes. As a result, a series of regulations "should ensure that all visits, regardless of location, have no negative impact on the Antarctic environment or its scientific and aesthetic values", according to the treaty's secretariat in Buenos Aires. Companies and scientific institutions voluntarily adhere to the biosafety guidelines and submit environmental impact assessments for their activities in Antarctica.

Antarctic expert Christian points out that the treaty was drawn up at a time when tourism figures were still much lower. "Activities need to be regulated appropriately, just as you would with any other sensitive and valuable ecosystem in the world," she emphasizes from Hiroshima, Japan, where she was preparing for a meeting on the Antarctic Treaty. "If you leave a footprint in the Antarctic, you can still see it 50 years later."