Where are we?

What is Extreme Environment Tourism?

Learning Objectives:
Students should know what extreme tourism is
Students should know why the numbers of extreme
tourists are increasing
Students should know what impacts tourists can have
on extreme environments

What is Extreme Environment Tourism?

Any ideas?
Extreme environment tourism involves
dangerous landscapes often with a difficult
climate, and places that are sparsely settled
(or not occupied at all), access to which is
limited.

Put the title Extreme Environment

Tourism into your exercise books and
write a definition of what it involves

Where are the Extreme Environments?

What do you think this map shows?

Where do you think our extreme environments might be?

What do you need to know?

The specification says that you need to know the

following:

The attractions of extreme environments to

tourists.
The increased demand for adventure holidays.
The impact of tourism on an extreme environment.

Card Sort:
You have been given a set of cards with this
information on
First sort the cards into the three categories
Attractions of Extreme Environments
Reasons for the increased demand
Damaging Impacts of Tourism in Extreme
Environments

Then rank the cards according to how important

you think they are (most important at the top)
There is no right or wrong answer for this. Just make
sure you can justify your decision

Once you have

completed the
card sort you will
need to get the
information down
into your notes.
To do this
abbreviate the
cards and write
the information
under the following
side headings:

Attractions of Extreme
Environments
Reasons for the
increased demand
Damaging Impacts of
Tourism in Extreme
Environments

Attractions of Extreme
Environments
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

They're ideal settings for

adventure holiday activities
like jeep tours, river rafting
and trekking.
A lot of people enjoy an
element of risk and danger in
their leisure time, which the
harsh conditions of an
extreme environment can
provide.
Some people want something
different and exciting to do on
holiday,
which nobody else they know
has done.
Some wildlife can only be
seen in these areas, e.g.
polar bears can only be seen
in the Arctic.
Some scenery can only be
seen in extreme places too,
e.g. icebergs can only be
seen in very cold
environments.

Reasons for the increased

demand
1.

2.

3.

4.

Improvements in transport
have made it quicker and
easier to get to some of these
destinations. For example,
the Qinghai-Tibet railway that
links China and Tibet (an
extreme mountain
environment) opened in 2006.
This increased tourism as
Tibet was easier to get to.
People are keen to see
places like Antarctica for
themselves while they have
the chance, before the ice
melts due to global warming.
Tourism to extreme
environments is quite
expensive, but people
nowadays tend
to have more disposable
income (spare cash, so more
people can afford to go.
Adventure holidays are
becoming more popular
because of TV programmes
and advertising.

Damaging Impacts of Tourism

in Extreme Environments
1.

2.

3.

The ecosystems in extreme

environments are usually
delicately balanced, because
it's so difficult for life to
survive in the harsh
conditions there. The
presence of tourists can upset
this fragile balance and cause
serious problems.
Tourists may cause increased
amounts of pollution in the
area through litter, sewage,
noise and vehicle fumes
The tourists may have an
impact on the wildlife. For
example, the wildlife may be
scared away by the increased
numbers of humans. Or the
wildlife may become
dependent on the tourists
(through feeding them).

Case Study
The other thing the specification says you
need to know in terms of tourism in
extreme environments is:
A case study of one extreme area and the
extent to which it can cope with the
development of a tourist industry.

We are going to use the case study of

Antarctica in order to do this
To introduce the case study watch the GATM
clip

Describe how a named area with

an extreme environment is coping
with an increasing number of
tourists
Have a go at deconstructing this question. What is it
actually asking?

So, not
explain

Must use a case study,

showing knowledge of
an extreme environment
e.g. Antarctica

Describe how a named area with

an extreme environment is coping
with an increasing number of
tourists
Must be an extreme
environment, not a
mass tourism area

i.e. management or responses

to the problem, not causes or
effects

Using the right information

Look at the table provided and find:
2 numbers to show that the number of visitors
to the area is increasing
8 numbers that show what Antarctica is doing
about or coping with the increasing number
of visitors
5 numbers which should not be included in
your answer to this question

 2 numbers to show that

the number of visitors to
the area is increasing
3&6

8 numbers that show

what Antarctica is doing
about or coping with the
increasing number of
visitors
12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17,
18, 21

5 numbers which should

not be included in your
answer to this question
1, 2 (background)
5, 7, 19 (reasons to go)
4, 9, 10, 11, 20 (impacts)

Use this information to have a go

at answering the question on the
sheets provided
Then complete your case study
factfile

Alternative Futures Plenary

One final concept we need to explore with
regards to Tourism in Antarctica is that of
Alternative Futures
What do you think this means?
Can anybody suggest some alternative
futures?
Fill in the bottom box of your case study
booklets