My childhood friend lives and works on an overseas cruise. She has traveled the planet straight 4 times, covering all parts of the world. He sends me the most beautiful scenes from a tour of Antarctica, which was unavoidable this year as well, despite Chovid 19.
Whether operators will be able to run trips will depend on whether the gateway ports – such as Ushuaia in Argentina (pictured) – will open up again. There’s no point in running a trip if passengers can’t get to the departure point.
It’s not just guests, but also staff and supplies too. If ships can’t get what they need in port and they can’t ensure everyone on board is free of Covid, trips won’t be able to run.
Cruise ships are already well equipped for managing the spread of illness because of the risk of norovirus, but coronavirus has taken the fear to the next level.
The biggest concern for all companies is what will happen if they do get a case. While all cruise ships carry a doctor and limited medical facilities, they are not equipped to deal with life-threatening emergencies. In such situations, the patient would normally be either transferred to another vessel that is heading back to port or evacuated by plane – but neither of those solutions would be an option with a live Covid case.
While Covid-19 might be a major concern for the Antarctic tourist industry, it could be good news for the region itself.
Without tens of thousands of tourists visiting, there’s less risk of non-native species being introduced, habitats being traed or pristine areas polluted.
One study into the gentoo penguin colony at Port Lockroy, a popular tourist site, showed that the number of breeding pairs had declined by 25% over the past 21 years. Other nearby and less-visited colonies were unaffected, suggesting the decline could be related to tourism.
But another study of stress hormones in penguin guano found no discernible difference in stress levels between penguins that live around visitors sites and those that don’t. The birds appear to have become habituated to the presence of humans.
The next breeding season will start around November, so experts are waiting to see if the lack of visitors this year will have a noticeable impact on the penguins’ breeding success.
For tour operators and visitors, these changes may even be seen as good news. As the ice melts, new sites open up and parts of the continent become more accessible.
Moj prijatelj iz detinjstva živi i radi na prekomorskom kruzeru.. Proputovala je planetom pravo 4 puta, pokrivajući sve delove sveta na sve strane sveta. Šalje mi najlepše scene sa turneje po Antarktiku, što je bilo neizbežno i ove godine, uprkos Chovid 19. Da li će operateri moći da vode putovanja zavisiće od toga da li će se portovi za prolaz – kao što je Ušuaja u Argentini ponovo otvoriti. Nema svrhe ići na putovanje ako putnici ne mogu da dođu do mesta polaska. Ne radi se samo o gostima, već i o osoblju i potrepštinama. Ako brodovi ne mogu da dobiju ono što im treba u luci i ne mogu da osiguraju da svi na brodu budu sigurni od Covida, putovanja neće moći da se vode. Kruzeri su već dobro opremljeni za upravljani za stopiranje širenja bolesti zbog rizika od norovirusa, ali je koronavirus digao strah na viši nivo.
Najveća briga za sve kompanije je šta će se desiti ako dobiju slučaj. Dok svi kruzeri prevoze lekare i ograničene medicinske ustanove, oni nisu opremljeni da se nose sa hitnim slučajevima opasnim po život. U takvim situacijama pacijent bi obično bio ili prebačen na drugo plovilo koje se vraća u luku ili bude evakuisano avionom – ali nijedno od tih rešenja ne bi bilo opcija sa živim slučajem obolelim od Kovida.
Mada bi Kovid-19 mogao da bude velika briga za turističku industriju Antarktika, to bi mogla da bude dobra vest za sam region..
Ostavši bez desetina hiljada turista kroz posete, smanjen je rizik da se uvezu nove životinjske vrste, da se staništa premeste ili da se zagađuju netaknuta područja... Jedna studija o koloniji gentoo pingvina u Port Lokroju, popularnoj turističkoj lokaciji, pokazala je da je broj parova za uzgoj opao za 25 odsto u proteklih 21 godinu. Druge obližnje i manje posećene kolonije nisu pogođene, što ukazuje da bi pad mogao da bude povezan sa turizmom. Ali druga studija hormona stresa u pingvinskom guanu nije otkrila primetnu razliku u nivou stresa između pingvina koji žive oko mesta za posetioce... Izgleda da su ptice navikle na prisustvo ljudi..
Sledeća sezona parenja počeće oko novembra, tako da stručnjaci čekaju da vide da li će nedostatak posetilaca ove godine imati primetan uticaj na uspeh uzgoja pingvina... Za turoperatore i posetioce, ove promene se mogu posmatrati čak i kao dobra vest. Kako se led topi, otvaraju se nove lokacije i delovi kontinenta postaju pristupačniji.. Rute i destinacije će se menjati kada nove oblasti postanu dostupne i dok se životinje budu premeštale u potrazi za novim uzgajalištima. Putovanja takođe mogu postati pristupačnija kako putovanja postaju lakša i popularnija.. Antarktički turizam cveta u poslednjih nekoliko godina, ali se eksperti nadaju da će pandemija pružiti turističkim operaterima priliku da se vrate korak unazad i ponovo razmisle.
Brrr, I don't like the cold. But my daughter loves winter