Take Antarctica off your travel bucket list

The continent is melting; whole chunks are prematurely tumbling into the ocean. Yet more tourists than ever are in Antarctica

Four decades ago, the continent saw only a few hundred visitors each summer. More than 100,000 people traveled there this past season, the majority arriving on cruises. A record 40% jump over 2019–20, the season before the coronavirus pandemic brought Antarctic travel to a near standstill.

Perversely, the climate change that imperils Antarctica is making the continent easier to visit; melting sea ice has extended the cruising season.

Overtourism isn’t a new story. But Antarctica, designated as a global commons, is different from any other place on Earth. It’s less like a too-crowded national park and more like the moon. It is singular, and in its relative wildness and silence, it is the last of its kind. And because Antarctica is different, we should treat it differently: Let the last relatively untouched landscape stay that way.

Get the full story at The Atlantic