Understanding the role of climate services for safe Antarctic tourism: A mobilities approach

Improving access to, and quality of, climate relevant information is particularly pertinent to mobile sectors operating in remote and dynamic polar marine environments. This is especially the case for the tourism sector which has witnessed considerable growth and diversification over the last decade. Tourism represents the primary and largest commercial activity in Antarctica with the total number of Antarctic visitors in 2017-2018 recorded as 17% greater than in the previous season. The increasing scale and diversity of tourism activities in Antarctica call for more detailed and specialised weather, water, ice and climate (WWIC) information services to help facilitate safe polar travel. Currently, no comprehensive information is available on WWIC services for tourism activities in the Antarctic. There is a need for an in-depth analysis to characterise and synthesise what is currently known about Antarctic tourism activities and the kinds of WWIC used. Since tourism is increasing in intensity and geographical extent, and a greater dependency on technology can be observed, more detailed, specialised and instant WWIC services are required for a greater diversity of contexts and practices. However, we do not have a sufficiently detailed understanding of what such specialised polar environmental forecasting services should look like to ensure that tourism operators receive timely and targeted information that can assist them in decision-making