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Is there a Sustainable Alternative to Arctic Cruise Tourism?

The Arctic is an area of pristine natural beauty as well as a region abundant in natural resources, it therefore deserves our protection in order that it remains a resource for all of mankind. However it is also home to many regionally based populations who have adapted to the harsh Arctic climate and whose livelihood has come to rely heavily on the promise of tourist traffic. Reducing the economic reliance on cruise tourism and increasing the efforts of smaller locally run tourist ventures would be one solution to the recent and unsustainable boom in cruise tourism on islands of the Arctic Circle. Ideally local populations should feel that tourism sustains them economically, but they are not reliant on trade from tourist ships which also cause damage to their environment.

In some areas of the Arctic a more refined and regional form of tourism is promoted, taking place on a smaller scale and across a limited area of land. As a result the environmental impact is limited in comparison to Arctic cruise liners. Amongst the barren Arctic tundra lands, located across northern Alaska, Canada and areas of Siberia, a new independent tourist venture has established itself. This is obviously limited to select times of the year however is becoming an increasingly sizeable industry. In areas such as Northern Canada, tourism is centred around the migration habits of the polar bear. The company, ‘Tundra Buggy Tours’ (Fresh Tracks Canada, 2018) advertise themselves as an opportunity to ‘witness the magnificent polar bears of Churchill congregate round the mouth of the Hudson Bay’ (Fresh Tracks Canada, 2018). Most popular in the Autumn October and early November months, the most feasible times to see the polar bears is in the autumn, as many congregate until the water freezes on the Hudson Bay and they can return to hunt their primary food source, Ringed Seals. Tourists often choose to stay in lodges on the Hudson Bay and could travel to within a safe distance of the animals feeding spots in specially adapted ‘Tundra Buggies’ (National Geographic, 2017), a practice that helps to sustain local tourism as well as the local economy. This alternative form of tourism is immensely beneficial as locals are not deprived of their livelihood as local populations are employed. This small scale tourism also prevents the hazardous situation that many people exit their tour ships to explore small local communities and pose a strain on their resources whilst also promoting a sustainable approach and not further damaging the environment. Other examples of conservation minded tourism are The National Arctic Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, Arctic Bay and Pond Inlet, Baffin Island, Canada and Anchorage, Alaska.

Static Tundra Buggy

Static Tundra Buggy

Buggy Tour at Dusk

Buggy Tour at Dusk

Mother and Young Polar Bear

Mother and Young Polar Bear

Tundra Buggy Driver

Tundra Buggy Driver

Polar Bears enjoying the Tundra landscape

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