Polar Tourism and Environmental Protection

Organized Antarctic tourism began modestly in the late 1950s and 1960s with early cruise voyages and sightseeing overflights, and gained a dedicated vessel in 1969 with the launch of the Lindblad Explorer, widely regarded as the first purpose-built Antarctic expedition cruise ship. As visitor numbers grew through the 1980s, tour operators created the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) in 1991 to self-regulate the fast-growing industry, establishing common environmental and safety standards well before any single government agency could have imposed them across so many nationalities of operator and visitor.