Yesterday, at a joint session of the Arctic Council and the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting in Baltimore, Maryland, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for tighter controls over tourism and other forms of pollution in Antarctica. Citing environmental and scientific research value, she urged greater global cooperation in preserving the continent.

Since 2000-01, visits to Antarctica have increased nearly four-fold,
with 46,000 visitors to the continent during the last tourist season.
The implications of this increase in tourism are, of course,
devastating to such a pristine ecosystem. And with the continued rise
in adventure tourism and nature-oriented travel, scientists and
preservationists are understandably concerned over the future of the
continent.

Continue reading “Antarctica: “hot” tourist destination of 2010?”