Tourist ship visits and tourist numbers

This indicator is no longer maintained, and is considered OBSOLETE.INDICATOR DEFINITIONA count of visits and visitor numbers to Australian Antarctic Territory sites and Australia's sub-Antarctic islands by Australian and overseas tour operators and private vessels. Data are also available for Australian tour operators that visit other (non-AAT) areas of the Antarctic and sub-Antarctic islands.TYPE OF INDICATORThere are three types of indicators used in this report:1.Describes the CONDITION of important elements of a system;2.Show the extent of the major PRESSURES exerted on a system;3.Determine RESPONSES to either condition or changes in the condition of a system.This indicator is one of: PRESSURERATIONALE FOR INDICATOR SELECTIONShipborne Antarctic tourist numbers have quadrupled in the past fifteen years. Antarctic tourism is expected to continue to exhibit high growth, particularly if more large cruise ships begin operating there. Antarctic tourism is currently concentrated around the Antarctic Peninsula area and associated sub-Antarctic islands. Apart from visits to Australia's sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island (which is managed by the State of Tasmania), there are currently only limited tourist visits to the AAT and other Australian sub-Antarctic islands. It is, however, important to track these activities due to the potential risk of cumulative environmental impact: the areas of most interest to tourists are those with concentrations of wildlife, with unique physical or biotic characteristics, or with heritage sites. Increased visits by tourist ships in Antarctic waters also increase the potential for oil spills, wildlife disturbance, effluent/waste discharges and introduced diseases.DESIGN AND STRATEGY FOR INDICATOR MONITORING PROGRAMSpatial scale: Australian Antarctic Territory and Australian sub-Antarctic islands visited by tour operators. Data from the Antarctic Peninsula (not Australian territory) is also included, from 2001-02 onwards, based on the reports of Australian tour operators who operate on the Peninsula. Note that Australian operators typically carry fewer than 10% of the total number of tourists in the Peninsula region, so the data does not reflect the overall pressure on that region. Frequency: Collected/reported annually, based on austral summer season for tour activities.Measurement technique: Data collected via initial environmental impacts assessments (EIAs) provided by operators/owners and via post visit reports. These data can be collated as required. Data on tourist visits/activities are also collected by the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO), although this information is predominantly about operators who are members of IAATO.Australia must provide information on private vessel activities in the Antarctic Treaty Area as part of Antarctic Treaty reporting obligations. Information from operators is also sought, and provided in the EIAs, on the type of operation and tourist activities and measures taken to minimise environmental impacts, e.g. oil spills contingencies.RESEARCH ISSUESSeveral issues are of concern with regard to increased tourism activity in the Antarctic region.The potential for cumulative impacts needs to be explored and methods developed to identify and quantify impacts at specific sites.Increased tourist and ship activity has the potential to cause pollution. Implications for increased pollutant loads in Antarctic ecosystems need to be addressed and acceptable levels of pollutants need to be identified.The introduction of exotic pests and/or diseases due to tourist activities has the potential to considerably affect Antarctic ecosystems. Work needs to be done to assess introductions that may occur and that have already occurred, and the impacts of these introductions.

本指标已停止维护，视为过时指标。
【指标定义】统计由澳大利亚及境外旅游运营商、私人船舶前往澳大利亚南极领地（Australian Antarctic Territory, AAT）各站点与澳大利亚亚南极岛屿（sub-Antarctic islands）的到访次数及访客人数。同时收录赴南极及亚南极岛屿非AAT区域开展业务的澳大利亚旅游运营商相关数据。
【指标类型】本报告采用三类指标：1. 描述系统关键组成要素的状态；2. 体现系统所承受主要压力的程度；3. 衡量针对系统状态或状态变化所采取的应对措施。本指标属于压力类指标。
【指标选取依据】过去15年间，南极乘船旅游的游客数量已增长至原来的4倍。南极旅游业预计将持续高速增长，若有更多大型邮轮投入南极运营，增长态势将更为显著。当前南极旅游活动主要集中于南极半岛（Antarctic Peninsula）区域及相关亚南极岛屿。除澳大利亚亚南极的麦夸里岛（由塔斯马尼亚州管理）外，目前前往AAT及其他澳大利亚亚南极岛屿的游客到访量十分有限。但仍需对这类活动进行追踪，原因在于其存在累积环境影响的潜在风险：游客关注度较高的区域多为野生动物聚集区、具有独特物理或生物特征的区域，或拥有历史遗迹的区域。南极海域游船到访量的增加，还会提升漏油、野生动物惊扰、污水/废弃物排放以及外来疾病传入的风险。
【指标监测方案设计与策略】
1. 空间范围：旅游运营商到访的澳大利亚南极领地及澳大利亚亚南极岛屿；同时纳入2001-2002财年起，由在南极半岛运营的澳大利亚旅游运营商提交的相关数据（南极半岛不属于澳大利亚领土）。需注意：澳大利亚运营商承运的游客通常仅占南极半岛区域游客总量的10%以下，因此该数据无法反映该区域所承受的整体压力。
2. 采集频率：按南极夏季旅游季每年采集并上报一次。
3. 测量方法：通过运营商/船东提交的初始环境影响评估（Environmental Impact Assessments, EIAs）及到访后报告收集数据，可根据需求对这些数据进行整理汇总。国际南极旅游运营商协会（International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators, IAATO）也会收集游客到访及活动相关数据，但该类数据主要针对IAATO会员运营商。
作为《南极条约》报告义务的一部分，澳大利亚需提交南极条约区内私人船舶活动的相关信息。同时也会向运营商征集其运营类型、游客活动以及为降低环境影响所采取的措施（如漏油应急预案）等信息，此类信息会被纳入环境影响评估文件中。
【研究议题】南极地区旅游活动的增加引发了多项值得关注的问题：
1. 需深入探究累积影响的潜在可能性，并开发方法以识别并量化特定区域的环境影响；
2. 游客及船舶活动的增加可能造成污染，需研究南极生态系统中污染物负荷增加所带来的影响，并确定可接受的污染物阈值；
3. 旅游活动可能引入外来有害生物或疾病，进而对南极生态系统造成显著影响，需开展相关工作以评估已发生和潜在发生的外来物种/疾病引入事件及其影响。