The International Agreement on the Development and Management of Antarctic Tourism

There are mainly 3 international organizations for Antarctic tourism management. The Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM), the Committee for Environmental Protection (CEP), and the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO). The Antarctic Treaty System (ATS) is an international agreement that must be followed by all Antarctic activities. Antarctic tourism activities should maintain fundamental values and principles of the Antarctic Treaty System. Safeguarding peace, cooperation on the basis of freedom of scientific research and comprehensive environmental protection are three pillars of the ATS. The Environmental Protocol entered into force after being signed by the Consultative Parties in 1998. Based on the Protocol, a prior environmental impact assessment (EIA) must be prepared for tourist activities. Each proposal for an activity must be subjected to a preliminary assessment (PA), an initial environmental evaluation (IEE) or a comprehensive environmental evaluation (CEE), depending on the possible impacts of the proposal. Nowadays, the main supervising subjects of Antarctic tourism are National Competent Authority (NCA) and IAATO; In addition to the industry′s own controls of IAATO, only the consultative parties of ATCM has taken part in decision-making of regulations and guidelines. Other participants in the meeting may contribute to the discussions. At present, the promotion of Antarctic tourism management is mainly reflected in three aspects: the improvement of the domestic legal systems of contracting parties, the establishment of the international communication platform and the development of site-specific guidelines. The number of Chinese Antarctic tourists has increased year by year, but no Antarctic International Tourism Organization of China has become associate of IAATO.