Lure of the wild draws tourists to Antarctica

IT BOASTS spectacular scenery, sunny weather and exotic wildlife. British Antarctica has had its busiest season yet as a tourist destination for those in search of an alternative holiday. Last year a record 4,800 people visited Port Lockroy in British Antarctica, up from 800 the previous year, as the search for more exotic holidays continues.

Port Lockroy, with its large gentoo penguin population, has been recently restored as an Antarctic base and declared a historic site. At the newly opened post office and souvenir shop, T-shirts with pictures of penguins have proved a particularly popular buy.

"It's so remote and people perceive it as the last remote wilderness," said Norman Cobley, a seabird ecologist who manned the base in 1996-97. "It's something that people perceive as a challenge. We don't need to encourage people to come, more and more are coming anyway."

A spokeswoman for Orient Lines, the biggest cruise line operating to the area, said: "It's a wonderful destination and surprisingly sunny. The temperatures are around 45F so it's rather like going on a skiing holiday."

"Exceptional" demand means that the company has planned five extra cruises for next year, with all cruises this year fully booked. Four different types of penguins, seals and whales are among the attractions for tourists. "Visitors also get to see albatrosses - the sort of bird that they have only read about," she added. "It's the sort of place for people who want something completely different."

A 13-day cruise next year will cost pounds 3,111, or 26 days pounds 5,083. Conservationists have expressed fears that the growth of tourism to Antarctica could result in destruction of the wilderness. Orient Line says it is careful to avoid this: "We only take small groups of people ashore at any one time and we don't want people trampling over a lovely unspoilt area."

"We've carried out studies and preliminary investigations show that there is no damage to the penguin population," said Mr Cobley. "We can't say whether there is any impact on anything else yet."

He had a warning, however, for those who see the Antarctic as nothing but glamorous: "Living on a small island with 2,000 pairs of penguins is very smelly and very noisy. We live without electricity and running water which can be a shock when people get off their nice warm cruise ships."