ANTARCTIC NON-GOVERNMENT ACTIVITY NEWS
Tourism Industry |
Brief news items on Antarctic and sub-Antarctic
non-government expedition activities.
ANAN 53
Wednesday, 15 August 2001
News in this edition:
53-01. Discussions on Tourism Scheduled for COMNAP-XIII.
53-02. Further Delay in Delivery of Society's Ship.
53-03. North American Pax Continue Dominance of Tourist Maket.
53-04. New Arrangements for KGI Marathons Finalised.
53-05. 'Wearables' Commence Training for Second SGP Attempt.
53-06. Coming Events Relevant to Non-Government Activities.
IN READING PLEASE NOTE: This newsletter is produced in the interest of improved information sharing in the Antarctic and sub-Antarctic community. Inclusion of information in it should not be taken to imply endorsement, by the publishers of ANAN News, of any company, program or associated activity that is listed, nor that the activity has necessarily completed all environmental impact assessments required under the legislation of the 'home' nation concerned.
DISCUSSIONS ON TOURISM SCHEDULED FOR COMNAP-XIII
[ANAN-53/01]
The Thirteenth annual meeting of the Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs (COMNAP-XIII), which is to commence next Monday in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, is expected to discuss a wide range of operational issues, including some that relate to non-government activities. COMNAP's meeting comes a month after this year's Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM-XXIV) agreed that the general issue of tourism should be listed for 'detailed discussion' at ATCM-XXV in September 2002 (ANAN-52/01, 1 August 2001).
COMNAP is made up of the heads of national program agencies or their operational arms and next week's meeting will consider issues in the fields of environmental management, safety and incident reporting, communications, emergency response, and the operation of ships and aircraft. Despite the national program focus, decisions taken on such matters often eventually filter through to the private sector and are therefore often of direct relevance to those involved in non-government operations.
Next week's consideration of non-government matters is not the result of a direct request by ATCM-XXIV, but is rather a standard agenda item at COMNAP's yearly gathering. The fact that ATCM-XXV is to consider tourism issues next year could provide a focus for discussion in the non-government field, particularly in the Council's Tourism and Non-Government Activities Working Group (TANGO) which has discussed issues such as cumulative impacts of tourism and adventure tourism at recent meetings.
TANGO is expected to consider developments in its field of expertise over the past year, including ATCM-XXIV discussions as well as a number of operational matters that resulted from incidents involving adventure tourism that occurred during the 2000-01 austral summer. These include the rescue of a seriously injured trekker in the Antarctic Peninsula region, the besetment of a yacht off Adelie Land, problems with communications and post-expedition transport in the Ross Sea sector, and other related matters (ANAN-40/02, 31 January 2001, ANAN-41/01, 41/03 and 41/04, 14 February 2001).
Many of those who will take part in COMNAP-XIII are responsible for the operational side of their national program's activities. A number, some of whom were involved in dealing with last season's problems, are known to be concerned about the resource and safety implications for their agencies that can result when adventure groups run into difficulties.
A number of the delegates to COMNAP-XIII also attended ATCM-XXIV and some are likely to take the opportunity to informally sound out the views of colleagues from other nations in order to develop strategies in the lead up to next year's ATCM discussion on tourism.
At COMNAP-XI, which was held in Goa, India, two years ago, it was agreed that COMNAP needed to improve inter-governmental coordination of information on, and management of, non-government activities conducted outside the purview of the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators. As a result, TANGO's terms of reference were widened and its membership increased from four to six (ANAN-6/01, 13 October 1999). The TANGO meeting in Tokyo, Japan (ANAN-25/06, 5 July 2000) last year discussed the possibility of managing a tourist coordination network but concluded that such an initiative was unnecessary at that time.
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FURTHER DELAY IN DELIVERY OF SOCIETY'S NEW SHIP
[ANAN-53/02]
The refurbishment of Society Expedition's new vessel has fallen further behind schedule and the ship is now not expected to be ready for operations until November, six months later than originally planned. While the company believes its 2001-02 Antarctic operations will begin on schedule, the work program for the vessel involved is believed to be very tight, and the ship's first two voyages in November-December may be in some doubt.
Society, which lost its long-serving vessel 'World Discoverer' in April last year (ANAN-21/04, 10 May 2000), said in January that it intended to refurbish the former 'Dream 21', rename it for its predecessor, and commence operations in the Russian far east and Alaskan waters in May this year. By early May, however, those northern Pacific voyages had been cancelled and a new start date of late August was set (ANAN-47/03, 23 May 2001), but it now appears that the project to bring the ship on line is running even further behind schedule.
Society President Michael Lomax told ANAN late last week that he believes the ship can be ready for the start of the Antarctic season and that "any speculation otherwise is premature". Despite this it is understood that Society recently decided, as a precaution, not to take further bookings for the first two voyages of the season until the ship situation becomes clearer.
The first of the two voyages is an eighteen-day trip that is due to leave Punta Arenas, Chile, on 19 November and visit the Falkland Islands, South Georgia, the South Orkney Islands and the Antarctic Peninsula. The second, which is listed for departure from Ushuaia, Argentina, on 7 December, is a twelve-day voyage to the Peninsula that is due to return to Ushuaia on the eighteenth.
'Dream 21' is currently believed to be in dry-dock somewhere in Asia undergoing a refit, although just what stage the work is at or its estimated completion date are unknown at this time. Similarly the causes for the delay in refurbishment, or whether Society has purchased, or plans to purchase the vessel, or is chartering it, have also not been made public.
Should the ship be available for Antarctic operations on time in mid-November, German-owned Society will still have lost eleven of the voyages it originally planned to undertake in the six months from May 2000. Of these seven were in Russian far eastern and Alaskan waters, and four in the west-central and eastern Pacific Ocean region.
Loss of the first two Antarctic trips would therefore be a further blow, and Lomax says that all those involved in the refurbishment project are working very hard to meet the required deadlines. Apart from the obvious loss of revenue involved, the latest delay is likely to present the company with the challenge of meeting customer expectations, as by November it will have been without a ship for just over eighteen months.
Society almost purchased another vessel in June 2000, but to the considerable disappointment of the company that plan fell through just before being finalised, leading to the cancellation of its entire 2000-01 Antarctic program (ANAN-29/01, 30 August 2000).
Society's web site currently indicates that it proposes to conduct seven Antarctic voyages with the new 'World Discoverer' in the South American sector in the 2002-03 season. Those voyages are similar to those proposed for 2001-02, five involving visits to the Antarctic Peninsula, the South Orkney Islands, South Georgia and the Falkland Islands areas, the other two being straight visits to the north-west Peninsula region.
NORTH AMERICAN PAX CONTINUE TO DOMINATE TOURIST MARKET
[ANAN-53/03]
Passengers from North America continued to dominate the ship-based Antarctic tourist market in 2000-01, although the United States share dropped six percentage points on that of the record 'Millennium' season of 1999-2000 (ANAN-26/02, 19 July 2000).
Some 5,709 US citizens, or forty-even per cent of known total non-government visitors, travelled to the continent last season, compared with the 7,739 twelve months previously according to information released recently by the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO). Canadian numbers fell from by 210 to 470, although their share of the overall market changed little being close to four per cent of total numbers for both seasons.
The fall is directly linked with the absence last season of three large ships that had visited the Antarctic Peninsula region in 1999-2000, the 'Rotterdam' (ANAN-19/03, 12 April 2000), 'Ocean Explorer I' and Aegean I' (ANAN-17/07, 15 March 2000). They carried close to 2,200 US citizens to Antarctica between them, although the 811 who travelled on 'Roterdam' did not land in the region.
After North America's fifty per cent, German citizens made up thirteen per cent of those who landed, up three percentage points on the previous season, those from the U.K. just under ten per cent, and Australians close to eight per cent. All-up, those five nations accounted for eighty-one per cent of total recreational visitors last austral summer, a similar percentage to that of 1999-2000.
Other countries that had more than one per cent of the market were Japan (416 or 3% of the total), Netherlands (282: 2%), Switzerland (252: 2%), and France (171: 1%). After that came a smattering of people from close to fifty nations, although only ninety-seven visitors can from Asian countries other than Japan. Total asian visitors to Antarctica made up only four per cent of total numbers in 2000-01, the same as the previous season, and it appears that the potentially huge market offered by that region has still not been tapped by tour operators.
Data on 2000-01 ship-based tourist numbers are collected by IAATO members and are collated by the US National Science Foundation. The full set of data is provided by IAATO on its web site: http://www.iaato.org/.
TO THE TOP
NEW ARRANGEMENTS FOR KGI MARATHONS FINALISED
[ANAN-53/04]
Marathon and half-marathon races planned for King George Island (KGI) early next year are to go ahead despite earlier concern that they may have to be cancelled. The events, which were thrown into doubt following the collapse of Canada's Marine Expeditions (ME) last June (ANAN-49/01, 20 June 2001) and the cancellation of flights from North America by the Argentine airline Aerolineas Argentinas, are now scheduled to be held on 2 March rather than 30 January as originally planned.
Next year's combined races, the fifth to be organised by United States' based Marathon Tours since 1995, will now be supported by Australian company Peregrine Adventures using the tour ship 'Akademic Ioffe'. 'Ioffe' supported both the 1995 and 1997 KGI marathons while under charter to ME's predecessor, Marine Expeditions Inc., who pioneered the KGI-based runs (ANAN-18/03, 29 March 2000)
Thom Gilligan, Marathon Tours' President, says that he expects about ninety-five runners to take part in the event next March, although a team of around ten from the ship will be involved in supporting activities. The race is fully booked and there are a number of people on a wait list according to Gilligan.
Over eighty of the competitors will attempt to complete the full forty-two kilometres of the main race, with around a dozen setting their sights on the shorter distance. Runners booked for the events next March come from Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.
'Ioffe' is scheduled to depart Ushuaia, Argentina, on 25 February, and after crossing the Drake Passage is to spend several days conducting standard tourist landing in the north-west Peninsula area in the lead up to race day. It is expected to return to Ushuaia on 7 March. Details of its itinerary are available on Marathon's web site at: http://www.marathontour.com/antarctica.
Last season's KGI marathons had to be cancelled due to weather, however, both were eventually held on board ME's then tour ship 'Lyubov Orolova' (ANAN-41/13, 14 February 2001).
US-based tour operator Adventure Network International announced earlier this year that it planned to run a marathon on the high plateau of Antarctica in early January with the finishing line being at the South Geographic Pole (ANAN-44/01, 11 April 2001). The company recently revamped its web site but the new version does not mentioned the marathon, which suggests that the event may have either been cancelled or deferred to a later year, although at the time of publication that could not be confirmed.
'WEARABLES' COMMENCE TRAINING FOR SECOND SGP ATTEMPT
[ANAN-53/05]
'Poles Wearable Expedition' couple Thomas and Tina Sjorgen, who failed to reach the South Geographic Pole (SGP) earlier this year, have commenced training in the United States for a second attempt on the 1,100 km trek later this year.
Next austral summer's attempt is, like its predecessor, part of a venture that includes a trek to the North Geographic Pole in the northern Spring of 2002 within weeks of their return from the SGP, and features the use of new light-weight communication technologies (ANAN-35/05, 22 November 2000).
Last season the Sjorgen's were picked up by aircraft 260 km from the Pole on 21 January, nine weeks after they set out from Hercules Inlet on the continental coast of Ellsworth Land. According to them the stress of pulling 150 kg sledges during the early part of the journey, and the fact that Thomas had suffered "chest pains" for several weeks towards the end of their journey, combined to slow the pair considerably and they were flown out just as the trekking season on the plateau came to a close (ANAN-40/08, 31 January 2001). At the time they said that they would return south in 2001-02 for another attempt.
According to a report posted recently on their web site, the small-scale computer and communications equipment that the pair used on last season's SGP attempt "took a severe beating". Details of the technological aspects of that expedition are available on line at: http://www.humanedgetech.com/techreport/techreport.htm.
COMING EVENTS RELEVANT TO NON-GOVERNMENT ACTIVITIES
[ANAN-53/06]
Please forward notice of events via e-mail to: tourism@aad.gov.au. Up-dates are made to ANAN's web site at
http://www.antdiv.gov.au/goingsouth/tourism/Research/BibConf/Confer/default.asp as soon as new information comes to hand.
YEAR 2001
20-24 August (Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
COMNAP XIII (including the sub-committee on Tourism and Non-Government Operations).
Contact: jsayers@comnap.aq (Jack Sayers).
27 August - 1 September (Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
VIII SCAR Biology Symposium (Session on "Antarctic research, human impacts and environmental policy").
For registration contact: vu_conference@dienst.vu.nl
14-20 September (Brittany, France)
Second international exhibition for polar philately.
Contact: philex.pole@laposte.net
12-16 November (Wilton Park, U.K.)
Conference: "40 Years On: The Antarctic Treaty System in the 21st Century".
Participation by invitation only.
YEAR 2002
2 March (King George Island, Antarctica)
Fifth Antarctic Marathon and Half Marathon.
Contact: marathon@shore.net (Thom Gilligan).
Last week of June [Dates/location to be set] (Europe).
IAATO year 2002 annual meeting.
Contact: iaato@iaato.org (Denise Landau)(invitation required).
8-19 July (Shanghai, China).
XXVII SCAR (Scientific Committee for Antarctic Research).
13-18 July (Shanghai, China)
COMNAP XIV (including the sub-committee on Tourism and Non-Government Operations).
Contact: jsayers@comnap.aq (Jack Sayers).
3-14 September (Warsaw, Poland)
Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting XXV
YEAR 2003
July [Dates to be set] (Seattle, United States).
IAATO year 2003 annual meeting.
Contact: iaato@iaato.org (Denise Landau)(invitation required).
23 November (Queen Mary and Dronning Maud Land regions).
Total solar eclipse (See ANAN-3/08, 1 September 1999).
ANTARCTIC NON-GOVERNMENT ACTIVITY NEWS (ANAN)
ANAN's aim is to provide a periodic summary of non-government activities in Antarctica. It is prepared from contributions from company, governmental, academic and private individuals with an interest in this area of endeavour on or around the southern-most continent.
EDITOR: Dave Moser (David.Moser@aad.gov.au).
POSTAL: Australian Antarctic Division, Kingston, Tasmania, Australia 7054
TELEPHONE: +61-3-6232-3347 (2200-0600 UTC).
FACSIMILE: +61-3-6232-3500.
RESEARCH/WRITING: Martin Betts (Martin.Betts@aad.gov.au)
TELEPHONE/FACSIMILE: +61-3-6267-4790 (2200-1100 UTC).
FACSIMILE: +61-3-6232-3500.
NEXT ISSUE: ANAN-54 to be issued on Wednesday, 29 August 2001
Deadline for items: Sunday, 26 August 2001 @ 2359 UTC. (send any items to tourism@aad.gov.au)