Alix Varnajot

1. In recent decades, the Polar regions have increasingly attracted public, academic, and media attention due to economic, geopolitical, and climate-related concerns (Demiroglu et al., 2024; Hall &...

The geographic North Pole (90°N) has captivated human imagination for centuries, provoking geographical thrills and serving as both a symbol of exploration and a coveted exclusive travel destination for modern-day tourists. While the geographic North Pole remains a permanent and still geographic attraction, the surrounding sea ice is, however, increasingly shrinking, turning this part of the Arctic into the epitome of last chance tourism (LCT). The coexistence of these opposing realities raises practical tensions and critical questions about the future of tourism in the Central Arctic Ocean, whereby people will continue to seek to reach the North Pole in a rapidly changing environment. Using icebreaker cruise tourism as an example, this paper examines how the geographies of the North Pole and the sea ice physics of the Arctic Ocean are intricately interconnected in shaping the North Pole tourist experience – an experience increasingly threatened by climate change. By bringing these contrasting realities together, the paper introduces the idea of the North Pole as a paradoxical place on the one hand, while on the other hand, it provides novel insights into the future of tourism in one of the most vulnerable environments of planet Earth.

Climate change is destabilizing Arctic landscapes by accelerating permafrost degradation, leading to more frequent slope failures, especially during summers. Summer is also the high touristic season for nature-based tourism in the Arctic, attracting visitors unfamiliar with permafrost-related risks. In this context, the Yukon, West Greenland, and Svalbard face both intensifying permafrost degradation and growing summer tourism, making them relevant cases for examining the intersections between permafrost and tourism. While studies and adaptation strategies prioritize local communities, they tend to overlook tourists, a growing demographic in permafrost regions. This tourism growth puts additional economic and safety burdens on local communities. It is argued that tourism should be more fully integrated into adaptation strategies to permafrost degradation and to that end, we propose three recommendations: stronger dialogue with tourism actors; target audiences for improved risk communication; integrate risk communication on permafrost degradation in tourism development goals. Overall, we claim that the inclusion of tourism in adaptation strategies will further contribute to Arctic communities’ resilience.

Permafrost degradation is one of the most significant consequences of climate change in the Arctic. During summers, permafrost degradation is evident with cryospheric hazards like retrogressive thaw slumps (RTSs) and active layer detachment slides (ALDs). In parallel, the Arctic has become a popular tourist destination for nature-based activities, with summer being the peak touristic season. In this context, cryospheric hazards pose potential risks for tourists’ presence in Arctic national parks and wilderness in general, like in the Yukon. This essay provides the basis for investigating further periglacial, geomorphological and tourism intersections, highlighting the critical need for future interdisciplinary research on thawing permafrost impacts. More so, this requires moving beyond the predominant focus on permafrost impacts on infrastructure and to also consider the direct threats posed to human physical presence in Arctic tourist destinations affected by permafrost degradation. Such interdisciplinary approach is critical not only to mitigate risks, but also to provide policy- and decision-makers with valuable insights for implementing measures and guidelines.

In August 2023, we both embarked on an icebreaker cruise ship in order to conduct fieldwork with and among cruise passengers and together with four other scientists. Departing from Longyearbyen, Svalbard, this two-week ship-time fieldwork took us to the geographic North Pole, across the Arctic Ocean sea ice, and to several locations in northern Svalbard. While cruise vessels operating as platforms of opportunity for researchers are not new, cruise tourism in the polar regions has raised ethical and sustainable concerns in times of increasing awareness regarding climate change. In addition, cruises bringing together tourists and scientists are currently objects of vivid discussions both in academia and the media. Drawing from our ship-time fieldwork experience, we aim to contribute to these recent debates. Building on the work of Lamers et al. (2024), we argue that misunderstanding on the concept of platform of opportunity can lead to potentially poor data collection, scientists’ disappointment, and detrimental reputation for both science and tourism actors. We argue that carefully selecting research projects that align with the specificities of expedition cruise tourism, and facilitating nighttime research are effective strategies to avoid these misunderstandings. This may also enhance the credibility of cruise companies that may often be accused of science- and greenwashing.

This chapter delves into the future of Arctic tourism in the European Arctic, and particularly focuses on adaptation strategies to climate change. It is grounded in the recently developed paradigm of Post-Arctic tourism, which refers to a proposed vision of Arctic tourism in an ice- and snowless Arctic. The chapter explores the contemporary meanings and values of Arctic tourism, as well as how these narratives influence adaptation strategies to climate change. It is argued that adaptation strategies currently in use by the tourism industry focus too much on the increasing lack of snow and ice, and thus, further increase the dependence of Arctic tourism on the cryosphere. As such, in a Post-Arctic future, these adaptation strategies can rather be understood as maladaptation. In this context, the chapter advocates rethinking the aesthetics of Arctic tourism as a smarter and more efficient strategy for local Arctic communities to become more resilient in the ongoing climate crisis.