Tourism and heritage in Antarctica: exploring cultural, natural and subliminal experiences

ABSTRACT

The guidelines on heritage management adopted by the 2018 Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting provide the most recent iteration for an Antarctic tourism sector which had, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, been projected to increase further with various risks and potential impacts requiring careful management. In this paper the role of cultural heritage for tourism prior to the COVID-19 pandemic is examined through three empirical perspectives. First, how the Antarctic cultural heritage is represented through the designation of Historic Sites and Monuments and Site Guidelines for Visitors; then how this is presented through tourism operators’ websites; and, finally, how it is experienced by visitors as narrated in open-source social media information. Each dataset suggests that, while cultural heritage is an important component of an increasingly commodified tourist offering, it is only part of an assemblage of elements which combine to create a subliminal and largely intangible Antarctic experience. In particular, a polarization of the heritage experience between cultural and natural does not appear productive. The paper proposes a more nuanced understanding of heritage tourism in Antarctica which accommodates the notion of a hybrid experience that integrates cultural heritage, the history and stories this heritage represents, and the natural environmental setting.

KEYWORDS:

• Antarctica
• commodification
• heritage tourism
• historic sites and monuments
• heritage experience
• hybrid heritage

Acknowledgements

The authors are very grateful to Ieuan Hopkins, Archives Manager at the British Antarctic Survey for reviewing visitor books from Port Lockroy, Damoy Hut and Wordie House. The support of the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust and the New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust in permitting access to the visitor books for the research is gratefully acknowledged. We also thank Chrissy Emeny, Andrea Herbert, Adele Jackson, Emily McGeorge, Ursula Rack and Gabriela Roldán for looking at visitor books in Antarctica during the 2019–20 season. Adele Jackson’s sound advice was much appreciated. Advice from the two anonymous reviewers and the Editor to improve the manuscript are gratefully acknowledged.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Swedish Research Council. Grant 2016-02611_VR