The 'End of the World' Is Overrun With Tourists

In 2024, more than 110,000 tourists set sail from Ushuaia, Argentina, aka "the end of the world," on cruises bound for Antarctica—a nearly 215% increase from a decade earlier. Tourism has become a lucrative business for the 83,000 locals who live in the capital of Tierra del Fuego, just 600 miles from the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. But that economic boost comes with a price: It's stressing the environment there, per the New York Times. The paper notes that every visitor to this remote southern portion of the world—"the closest you can get to visiting another planet," as one travel agency founder puts it—brings about 5 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per trip, which is about what the average person emits in an entire year.

Warming temps and the other growing effects of climate change are already wreaking havoc in Antarctica: This year, for instance, "a popular ice and rock formation inside Tierra del Fuego National Park collapsed into a slushy heap," per the Times. Travel and Tour World notes that even graffiti has found its way to this once-pristine area. And then there's the housing issue in Ushuaia, with locals scrambling to find affordable housing as its population grows due to the tourist influx. "There's going to come a moment where it's going to be all tourists in Ushuaia. And who is going to serve them" if locals can't find homes, says Maria Elena Caire, president of the Que Nos Escuchen housing group, per the Times.

So what can we do to ensure that this fragile region is kept in good shape? Travel adviser Larissa Clark tells Euronews that folks intent on traveling to this area can do their due diligence by seeking out tour operators that "[prioritize] environmentally responsible practices" such as keeping passenger numbers small and cruise ships that use wind power for propulsion. Cruise lines are trying to do their part as well. "Sustainability is at the core of everything we do," says Lyndsey Lewis of Quark Expeditions. Among Quark's initiatives: teaming up with Penguin Watch, a group that studies penguin ecology and brainstorms on ideas for conservation. More here. (More overtourism stories.)