Antarctica tourism since 1966

Tourism Antarctica
Tourism in Antarctica – from one ship (in 1966) to a mainstream tourist destination in 50 years.

History of Tourism in Antarctica | In 1966, the first ship carrying tourists arrived in Antarctica: 57 leisure travelers were ready to visit the world’s southernmost land mass. The tour was lead by Swedish-American entrepreneur Lars-Eric Lindblad. He was aware that his journey to the frozen continent might be tangled with complications. “Going there might even be impossible”, he told his group. 50 years later, the impossible has become normality.

Tourism Antarctica
Tourism in Antarctica: German tourist takes snapshots of penguins.

Approx. 50,000 wealthy travelers did set foot on Antarctica in 2016. Although US-Americans still lead the pack in numbers, Chinese adventurers are right at their heels, taking over the #2 spot from the Germans. The cruise industry dominates tourism in Antarctica, with 90% tourist landings on the icy continent. But 10% of tourists now just fly over the continent. Several operators offer 12-hour sightseeing flights aboard chartered Boeings.

How much for a 14-day trip to Antarctica?

An antarctic cruise usually starts at $10,000 per person. But there are reasonable options at $7,000 too. Some food for search: Adventure Life, Silversea Cruises Ltd., Carnival Corp., CruiseCompete.com, Hurtigruten Group ASA Scenic Tours. Scenic Tours actually specializes in upscale European river boat trips. But the company is now building a 228-passenger luxury yacht. Antarctica will be its key destination. Launch: probably in August 2018. Her name: ‘Scenic Eclipse’. She will carry two helicopters to fly the wealthier of the wealthy tourists inland, and the yacht will also carry a 7-seat submarine.

Tourism Antarctica

Travelers interested in it usually have 3 things in common:
-> They are freaking rich.  -> They have been almost everywhere else.  -> The are either from the United States, China or Germany. In case you are not from there: Time to make a difference ;)

Tourism Antarctica
Tourism in Antarctica: Chinese tourist group.


Tourism in Antarctica. By Chili and Churp | © International Destinations | Read more articles on the History of Tourism here:  | Beginning of Leisure Tourism 1844 | Beginning of Winter Tourism 1860 | First Cruise Ship 1900 | Sex Tourism since 1950s | Space Tourism since 2009Forgotten Tourist Destinations | Most popular Countries for Tourists