Should I Go There?

Travel writer Carlos Gomm is planning his next holiday. But should he go there? He doesn’t like holidays with hotels, beaches and swimming pools, and he's not interested in sightseeing in old cities. he'd like to do something exciting and nowadays lots of holidays have excitement. There’s backpacking over the Andes of

South America, or he could go on a safari and see animals in Africa. Maybe he should visit Australia and swim with the dolphins along the coast. But when he chooses a holiday, he always has the same problem. He doesn’t want to go somewhere and see lots of other tourists. He wants to be the only person there. The problem is there are other tourists everywhere these days. Is there anywhere in the world without other people?

What about Antarctica? It’s huge and beautiful. Between 1,000 and 5,000 scientists work there, but nobody lives there. It doesn’t have a government and there are no cities so there’s no pollution or noisy traffic. It has lots of nature and wildlife. It sounds perfect!

Actually, there are also tourists in Antarctica. Tourism in Antarctica began in the late 1950s. About 500 people a year visited from Chile and Argentina. Nowadays, about 50,000 tourists from all over the world go by ship to the continent every year and the number of cruises is increasing.

So like everywhere else with tourists, Antarctica is changing. You can’t stay overnight, but you can visit areas with wildlife. Some people think the numbers of wild animals and birds are decreasing as a result. However, there is also some positive news. Many cruise ships are members of the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO). They teach their passengers about Antarctica and its wildlife. The cruise companies also give money to environmental organizations in the region. These organizations want to help the nature and wildlife of Antarctica so it doesn’t change in the future. So what should he do? Go to Antarctica, go somewhere else or stay at home?