Cruise tourism in polar regions : promoting environmental and social sustainability?

Cruises are the primary form of tourism in the Polar Regions and cruise ship tourism in both the Arctic and Antarctic is expanding rapidly. The industry has moved beyond its infancy, and is now entering a maturing phase with increased numbers and types of vessels, more demanding routes, and more regular and predictable patterns of activity. The increase in cruise activities, and the associated risks of accidents, as well as the potential and actual impacts of the large numbers of tourists in the polar regions bring with it management challenges for sustainable use of these regions.This book discusses critically the issues around environmental and social sustainability of the cruise industry in Polar Regions. Authors from Canada, USA, Europe, Australia and New Zealand are experts in their respective fields and take an innovative, critical and at times controversial approach to the subject.

Author Notes

Michael Lck is Associate Professor and Head of Department (Tourism and Events) in the School of Hospitality and Tourism, and Associate Director for the Coastal and Marine Tourism Research program area at the New Zealand Tourism Research Institute, both at AUT University in Auckland, New Zealand. Patrick T. Maher is an Associate Professor in the Outdoor Recreation and Tourism Management Program at the University of Northern British Columbia. Emma J. Stewart is a senior lecturer in Tourism and Parks at Lincoln University, New Zealand, and is a Research Associate at the Arctic Institute of North America (AINA).

Reviews 1

Choice Review

Editors Luk (Auckland Univ. of Technology, New Zealand), Maher (Univ. of Northern British Columbia, Canada), and Stewart (Lincoln Univ., New Zealand) have extensive experience with the cruise industry at large. Here they focus on individual aspects of the industry: market, human, environment, and policy and government. The conclusion discusses the future of cruising. The 14 chapter authors in this four-part work draw from the extensive database of worldwide cruising. Case studies include Alaska, Arctic Canada, Antarctica, North Pole, and Newfoundland and Labrador. Coverage ranges from assessment of the current rapid expansion of polar cruising, personal security on board, climate change, increasing size of ships, high costs, environmental impacts, and dangers associated with accidents occurring far from "normal" rescue infrastructure. Chapter contributors fully cover moral and ethical issues; these are especially well illustrated by discussions of disputes between major cruise lines and the state of Alaska. The volume is well produced with copious photographs, although more maps would have been an asset. At the time of this review, this reviewer had just returned from an Arctic Norway cruise. At the same time, two ship groundings in the Northwest Passage made news headlines. Anyone contemplating a cruise could avoid considerable pitfalls by reading this book. Summing Up: Recommended. All readership levels. J. D. Ives emeritus, Carleton University

Norman Douglas and Ngaire DouglasMichael Lück and Patrick T. Maher and Emma J. StewartMark B. OramsRobert K. HeadlandArthur Asa BergerRoss A. KleinValerie SheppardGeoff GreenMichael LückEmma J. Stewart and Dianne Draper and Jackie DawsonMachiel Lamers and Bas AmelungDaniela Liggett and Alison McIntosh and Anna Thompson and Bryan Storey and Neil GilbertJohn S. Hull and Simon MilneGreg RingerPatrick T. Maher and Emma J. Stewart and Michael Lück

List of figures, tables and boxes	p. ix
List of contributors	p. xii
Acknowledgements	p. xviii
Foreword	p. xx
List of acronyms and abbreviations	p. xxv
1 Setting the Scene: Polar Cruise Tourism in the 21st Century	p. 1
Introduction	p. 1
The cruise industry and the polar regions	p. 2
Sustainable tourism and the polar regions	p. 7
Part I Market Dimensions	p. 11
2 Polar Yacht Cruising	p. 13
Introduction	p. 13
The past: Adventurers and explorers	p. 13
The present: The polar regions and yachts	p. 15
Important issues regarding impacts	p. 20
Conclusions	p. 22
3 Cruising to the North Pole aboard a Nuclear Icebreaker	p. 25
Introduction	p. 25
Logistics	p. 25
The icebreakers	p. 30
Inception	p. 32
The first full-scale voyage	p. 33
The northbound voyage	p. 33
The North Pole	p. 34
Ice and weather conditions	p. 35
Environmental considerations	p. 36
Wildlife records and observations	p. 37
Passengers	p. 37
Lectures and other activities	p. 38
Helicopters	p. 39
Other locations: Eurasian Arctic archipelagos and the Northeast Passage	p. 39
Pole of relative inaccessibility	p. 40
Operating companies	p. 41
Conclusions	p. 41
4 Selling the Adventure of a Lifetime: An Ethnographic Report on Cruising in the Antarctic	p. 43
The ocean cruise industry: An American form of tourism	p. 44
Categories of ocean cruise lines	p. 44
Specialty cruise lines to Antarctica	p. 45
A mainstream cruise to Antarctica on the Star Princess	p. 46
Specialty cruise ships to Antarctica	p. 48
Luxury adventure cruises	p. 49
The sacred, the profane and Antarctica	p. 51
The myth model and Antarctic travel	p. 52
Landing on Antarctica	p. 53
The fortunate few and Antarctica's good fortune	p. 54
Part II Human Dimensions	p. 55
5 Cruises and Bruises: Safety, Security and Social Issues on Polar Cruises	p. 57
Introduction	p. 57
Safety and security	p. 58
Sensitivity	p. 64
The issue of carrying capacity	p. 66
Economics of cruise tourism	p. 67
The cruise ship virus	p. 69
Cruises and bruises	p. 70
6 Exploring the Ethical Standards of Alaska Cruise Ship Tourists and the Role they Inadvertently Play in the Unsustainable Practices of the Cruise Ship Industry	p. 75
Introduction	p. 75
Background to the study	p. 76
Research methodology	p. 77
Findings	p. 80
Discussion of the results	p. 86
Conclusions and recommendations	p. 88
7 Students on Ice: Learning in the Greatest Classrooms on Earth	p. 93
Introduction	p. 93
Foundations and raison d'être (mandate)	p. 94
Education programme	p. 95
Student success stories	p. 98
Awe and wonder	p. 101
Comments from students and staff	p. 101
Future plans	p. 103
Conclusions	p. 104
Part III Environmental Dimensions	p. 107
8 Environmental Impacts of Polar Cruises	p. 109
Introduction	p. 109
Environmental impacts of cruises in polar regions	p. 111
Regulations	p. 114
The holistic approach	p. 127
Conclusions	p. 128
9 Monitoring Patterns of Cruise Tourism across Arctic Canada	p. 133
Introduction	p. 133
Cruise tourism across Arctic Canada	p. 133
Monitoring cruise ship activity in Arctic Canada	p. 135
Cruise tourism in the High Arctic	p. 135
Cruise tourism in the Northwest Passage	p. 137
Cruise tourism in the Baffin Bay region	p. 138
Cruise tourism in the Hudson Bay region	p. 140
Discussion	p. 142
Conclusions	p. 144
10 Climate Change and its Implications for Cruise Tourism in the Polar Regions	p. 147
Introduction	p. 147
Climate change in the polar regions: An overview	p. 149
A typology of impacts of climate change on tourism	p. 149
Impacts on polar cruise tourism	p. 153
Discussion	p. 157
Conclusions	p. 159
Part IV Policy and Governance Dimensions	p. 165
11 Stakeholder Perspectives on the Governance of Antarctic Cruise Tourism	p. 167
Introduction	p. 167
'Governing the governors': A story of controlling self-regulation	p. 169
Ways forward - practically and conceptually	p. 176
12 Port Readiness Planning in the Arctic: Building Community Support	p. 181
Introduction	p. 181
The Newfoundland and Labrador context	p. 183
Building port readiness: Approach and findings	p. 186
Conclusions and recommendations	p. 200
13 Beyond the Cruise: Navigating Sustainable Policy and Practice in Alaska's Inland Passage	p. 205
Introduction	p. 205
Current policy and practice	p. 209
Sustainable Alaskan cruise tourism	p. 213
Conclusions	p. 215
Part V Conclusions	p. 225
14 Moving Forward	p. 227
Returning to the beginning	p. 227
Lessons from the book	p. 228
Cross-cutting themes	p. 231
Research directions	p. 232
Index	p. 237

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