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ANTARCTICA is predicted to see a double-digit growth in tourism this year, driven in part by a surge in Chinese visitors.
According to figures from International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO), China amounted up to 10.6 percent of the total visitors who visited the region in 2015, an increase of about 25 percent from the previous year.
China is the third largest source of tourists in Antarctica after the US and Australia. American visitors accounted for the highest tourist numbers at 35.5 percent, while Australian visitors took up 11 percent of the total number of visitors.
Overall, a total of 38,478 tourists traveled to Antarctica in the 2015-16 season, marking a year-on-year increase of 4.6 percent.
However, it was also reported that only a small fraction of visitors travels beyond the continent’s coast. The majority of tourists visit the continent on luxury cruises, while only 11 percent head into the inlands.
According to South China Morning Post, the threat of Antarctica’s ice sheet melting away is drawing tourists to visit before it’s too late.
Meanwhile, the peak of the tourist season in Antarctica is during its summer, between November to February.
Source: travelwireasia.com