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This indicator is no longer maintained, and is considered OBSOLETE.INDICATOR DEFINITIONA count of visits and visitor numbers to Australian Antarctic Territory sites and Australia's sub-Antarctic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
统计澳大利亚及海外旅行社、私人船舶前往澳大利亚南极领地（Australian Antarctic Territory, AAT）站点与澳大利亚亚南极岛屿的到访次数及游客数量。此外，还可获取前往南极及亚南极岛屿非AAT区域的澳大利亚旅行社相关数据。

## 指标类型
本报告共使用三类指标：
1. 描述系统重要组成要素的状态；
2. 展示施加于系统的主要压力程度；
3. 确定针对系统状态或状态变化的应对措施。
本指标属于压力类指标。

## 指标选取依据
过去15年间，乘船前往南极的游客数量已增长四倍。预计南极旅游业将持续保持高速增长，若有更多大型邮轮投入运营，增长态势将尤为显著。当前南极旅游主要集中于南极半岛及相关亚南极岛屿区域。除澳大利亚亚南极的麦夸里岛（由塔斯马尼亚州管理）外，目前仅有少量游客到访AAT及其他澳大利亚亚南极岛屿。但仍需对这类活动进行追踪，因其存在累积环境影响的潜在风险：游客最关注的区域往往是野生动物聚集区、具有独特物理或生物特征的区域，或是遗产遗址。南极水域游船到访量的增加，也会提升原油泄漏、野生动物惊扰、污水/废物排放以及外来疾病传播的风险。

## 指标监测方案的设计与实施策略
### 空间范围
覆盖旅行社到访的澳大利亚南极领地及澳大利亚亚南极岛屿。自2001-02财年起，还纳入了澳大利亚旅行社运营的南极半岛（非澳大利亚领土）相关数据。需注意，澳大利亚旅行社在半岛地区的游客量通常不足总游客量的10%，因此该数据无法反映该区域面临的整体压力。
### 数据频率
以旅游活动所在的南半球夏季季为周期，每年收集并报告一次数据。
### 测量方法
数据通过运营商/船东提交的初始环境影响评估（Environmental Impact Assessments, EIAs）以及到访后报告进行收集。此类数据可根据需求进行整合。国际南极旅游经营者协会（International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators, IAATO）也会收集游客到访/活动相关数据，但该信息主要针对IAATO会员运营商。作为南极条约（Antarctic Treaty）报告义务的一部分，澳大利亚需提交南极条约区域内私人船舶活动的相关信息。同时也会向运营商征集信息，这些信息会包含在EIAs中，包括运营类型、游客活动以及为最小化环境影响所采取的措施（例如原油泄漏应急预案）。

## 研究议题
针对南极地区旅游业的增长，存在若干值得关注的议题。
需探究累积影响的潜在可能性，并开发方法以识别和量化特定区域的影响。
游客及游船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的相关影响，并确定可接受的污染物水平。
游客活动可能引入外来有害生物和/或疾病，这会对南极生态系统造成显著影响。需开展相关工作，评估已发生和可能发生的外来物种引入事件及其带来的影响。