The International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators has responded to “Mind the gaps: The moral journey of tour guides who quit,” a study built on interviews with 25 former Antarctic guides who left the industry. IAATO says the study makes a valuable contribution to the conversation about travel to Antarctica and its findings deserve to be acknowledged and considered.
A study of 25 former guides is not a verdict on all 6,605
The study looks only at guides who had already left Antarctic tourism after experiencing moral conflict. IAATO calls that a valuable and under-explored perspective, but not synonymous with the experience of the Antarctic guiding community, all 6,605 guides. Many guides continue to work in Antarctica because they believe responsible expedition tourism can contribute to conservation, IAATO says, based on conversations with guides in its committees, working groups and Polar Field Staff Conference.
Guides see their role as helping visitors understand a place central to the global climate and protected under an extraordinary intergovernmental framework. Their work includes education about Antarctic ecosystems, climate change, science, wildlife and the Antarctic Treaty System. It also means translating environmental requirements into practical field behaviour, from wildlife interactions and biosecurity to site management and operational decision-making.
The response places the study inside the Antarctic Treaty System
IAATO was created in 1991 to advance safe and environmentally responsible Antarctic tourism. Its members operate under the Antarctic Treaty System and relevant national and international laws, and have committed to keeping tourism's impact on the Antarctic environment minor or transitory.
The Antarctic Treaty System supplies the overarching framework for permitting and authorisation. Under the Environmental Protocol, Antarctica is a natural reserve devoted to peace and science. The Protocol applies to all human activities there, including science, fishing, tourism and government activity. Environmental assessment and national permitting requirements apply to Antarctic activities. Treaty Parties' general guidance for visitors is intended to ensure visits do not adversely affect the environment, wildlife, ecosystems or Antarctica's scientific, wilderness and aesthetic values.
Member operators must provide educational programs to receive a permit or authorisation to operate. Training and assessments support field staff in the knowledge and practices needed for safe and environmentally responsible operations, including Antarctic Treaty System requirements.
The paradox stands, and so does the need for vigilance
IAATO says the study does not resolve the fundamental paradox identified by the researchers: every voyage to Antarctica can have environmental consequences, including the emissions produced while getting there. Education should not be used as a convenient justification for that impact.
Neither should the paradox lead anyone to overlook ways in which responsible tourism can evolve and contribute to Antarctic stewardship, and already has done so. Antarctica's changing circumstances make complacency particularly dangerous, IAATO says, and call for ongoing vigilance. The most useful conclusion drawn from the research, IAATO says, is not that expedition guiding as a profession is incompatible with environmental responsibility.
Before choosing an operator, a reader can ask how guides are trained, how educational programs are assessed and how wildlife interactions, biosecurity and site management are handled in the field.