If 1966 seems relatively recent, consider just how isolated and inhospitable the region is: it\u2019s 700 miles from the nearest landmass (South America<\/a>), temperatures can plummet to -112F (-80C), and winds can reach 186mph.<\/p>\n The original mission, with 57 guests, was partly to inspire people to become stewards for the planet, by exposing them to one of its most awe-inspiring places.<\/p>\n Lars-Eric\u2019s son, Sven Olof-Lindblad, the founder and former CEO of Lindblad Expeditions (now National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions), told The Independent: \u201cI remember the postcard my father, Lars-Eric Lindblad, sent me from Antarctica in 1966. At the time, he was in the midst of an unprecedented achievement \u2014 bringing the very first tourists to the White Continent and pioneering modern expedition cruising.<\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n Polar veteran and photographer Paul Goldstein said: ‘Antarctica needs firm governance, but also needs ambassadors. Tourism has assisted that’ (Paul Goldstein)<\/p>\n \u201cAs we mark 60 years, it is still our driving belief that if you expose people to the raw beauty of the world, and even more, the fragility of it all \u2014 awestruck, they will be inspired to learn more and ultimately, become planetary stewards.\u201d<\/p>\n But was the trip a mistake? After all, Antarctica is far more than a spectacle, it\u2019s a pristine deep-time climate laboratory: its 2.5-mile-thick ice sheets are a one-million-year record of the Earth\u2019s atmosphere. Its cold, salty water drives global currents; the fate of the ice it holds, 90 percent of the world\u2019s total, directly affects sea levels; and its Southern Ocean absorbs around 40 percent of human-made carbon dioxide emissions. <\/p>\n Since Lars-Eric brought civilian travelers ashore at Smith Island and Melchior Islands on the Antarctic Peninsula on 23 January1966, the region has undergone what some describe as \u201cdestinationification\u201d \u2014 the development of landing sites and seasonal itineraries. Around 80,000 people visited Antarctica last year, the vast majority arriving on expedition cruise ships, many of which offer high-end comforts. For an environment that\u2019s so fragile, this is a big influx.<\/p>\n This is something Sven is well aware of.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cMy father turned Antarctica into a possibility. We hold a tremendous responsibility for opening the doors to tourism to the continent, and we take that seriously, which is why in 1991, we joined six other operators to found the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators (IAATO), helping set the standards that guide the industry today.\u201d<\/p>\n Read more: My epic Antarctica voyage ended in angry protests \u2013 but I loved every minute<\/a><\/p>\n Two of the crucial rules stipulate that only 100 people can set foot on the ice at any given time, and ships with capacities of more than 500 aren\u2019t allowed to make landings at all.<\/p>\n Another expedition leader who sees the 1966 landing as beneficial is guide, photographer, conservationist and polar veteran Paul Goldstein<\/a>, who has spent a total of around 10 months in Antarctica. He told The Independent that opening the continent to tourists was \u201ccertainly positive,\u201d adding: \u201cSensitive travellers understand the delicate nature of the South Atlantic,<\/a> know the fine lines upon which the species eke out existences in this savage Eden. They also understand just how critical climate change is to this vast area and how important that is to the world’s ecological equilibrium. Antarctica needs firm governance, but also needs ambassadors. Tourism has assisted that.\u201d<\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n Two crucial rules in Antarctica are that only 100 people can set foot on the ice at any given time, and ships with capacities of more than 500 aren\u2019t allowed to make landings at all (Paul Goldstein)<\/p>\n Tudor Morgan, HX Expeditions Antarctic Ambassador, holds similar sentiments.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cI began my career working with the British Antarctic Survey, so I have seen Antarctica through a scientific and heritage lens. One of the ongoing challenges is that scientific understanding of Antarctica is not always communicated effectively beyond the research community. Allowing people to see and experience the continent can help bridge that gap. When done responsibly, tourism can be a force for good.\u201d<\/p>\n He also pointed out that to aid scientific understanding, HX Expeditions partners with the University of Tasmania to offer guests the chance to take part in onboard science and education programmes. Heritage Expeditions does the same, with co-owner Aaron Russ revealing that its guests take part in citizen science programmes, such as helping researchers collect penguin bones and eggshells to assist with the study of penguin paleoecology.<\/p>\n Despite the science projects, not everyone is convinced.<\/p>\n Read more: Doctors are now \u2018prescribing\u2019 Sweden \u2013 this is what happened when I ditched my phone for the Scandi wilderness<\/a><\/p>\n Assistant Professor Melisa Diaz from the Ohio<\/a> State University’s School of Earth Sciences is sceptical about the wider benefits of Antarctic tourism.<\/p>\n She acknowledges that \u201cpart of understanding Antarctica is seeing Antarctica,\u201d and she \u201cenjoys seeing others experience this wild continent.\u201d She also notes that many contractors at McMurdo Station, the American Antarctic research station on the southern tip of Ross Island, \u201carrive to check off the \u20187th continent\u2019 on their bucket lists yet leave as stewards of the continent.\u201d<\/p>\n But she\u2019s not so sure tourists do.<\/p>\n In an email written from Antarctica, she said: \u201cI’m not convinced most tourists develop a similar deep connection with Antarctica. Perhaps I’m just optimistic that tourists will happily and willingly campaign for conservation and stewardship. But in the years since we’ve seen tourism increase in Antarctica, we haven’t seen an appreciable action or investment in environmental conservation.\u201d<\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n Scientist Dr Marco Tedesco is worried that ‘Antarctica becomes another must-see bucket-list destination for a growing global elite, with incremental impacts further eroding the very wonder people travel so far to experience’ (Paul Goldstein)<\/p>\n The scientist is also concerned about even low levels of tourism.<\/p>\n She explained: \u201cI don’t think any tourism is low-impact. Even just getting here is logistical gymnastics, and the planes, helicopters and ships have an enormous environmental footprint. It’s been high-impact and always will be.\u201d<\/p>\n As an example, she cited the fragility of the McMurdo Dry Valleys: \u201cThe ecosystems that exist in the McMurdo Dry Valleys are tough. They have adapted to live and persist in both 24-hour sunlight and darkness, in high salinities, and frigid temperatures. But we’re unsure how or if they can adapt to microplastics, or goose-down feathers from coats, or warming temperatures from climate change <\/a>or rainfall (it’s a desert).<\/p>\n Read more: This cruise line is teaching guests how to track climate change in polar ice caps<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cExperiencing it firsthand makes it feel more real. But there are definitely consequences if environmental protection does not remain a priority. Personally, I do not find that tourism to Antarctica is worth the obvious environmental degradation that comes along with it.\u201d<\/p>\n Dr Marco Tedesco, a climate scientist and research professor with the Columbia Climate School in New York City<\/a>, agreed.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cOpening Antarctica has helped build a global consciousness that \u2018knows\u2019 more and more about the ice, what is happening because of climate change, and explores the unique nature of the extreme continent. However, the scale of current tourism has enormous ecological and environmental impacts, pushing a fragile system closer to its limits. We are allowing tourism to grow faster than the rules. Our focus should be protecting that environment before fulfilling our curiosity.\u201d<\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n An inflatable boat full of tourists on a whale and seal watching trip in Antarctica (zhu difeng – stock.adobe.com)<\/p>\n So, what\u2019s the solution? As the Antarctic tourism industry cannot simply be cancelled.<\/p>\n Dr Tedesco posits that there is a way to establish true \u201clow impact\u201d tourism.<\/p>\n He explained: \u201cWe need to have the following ingredients: the number of visitors has to grow slower than our ability to monitor and manage sites; activities affecting wildlife behavior or fragile vegetation need to be contained or eliminated; and per-capita emissions need to be reduced or offset.<\/p>\n \u201cMy biggest concern is that Antarctica becomes another \u2018must-see\u2019 bucket-list destination for a growing global elite, with incremental impacts further eroding the very wonder people travel so far to experience.\u201d<\/p>\n Paul Goldstein, though, argued that there are bigger threats, such as \u201cplunderers Norway<\/a> and China<\/a> harvesting huge shoals of krill.\u201d Last year, he pointed out, boats from these countries scooped up 600,000 tons in Antarctic waters.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is unsustainable,\u201d he said. \u201cKrill are the single most important foodstuff in the world. You destroy the bottom of the food chain, you destroy more than one tiny species.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s clear that the question of whether opening Antarctica to tourism has been for better or worse doesn\u2019t have a straightforward answer. If you do decide to go, Mr Goldstein has some straightforward advice: \u201cThe good guys never employ the word ‘cruise’ \u2013 that is maritime heresy. It is an expedition, a journey, quest, voyage, crusade or pilgrimage… Never. Ever. A cruise.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Polar](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Paul-Goldstein-antarctica.jpeg\")
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