TOURISM AND THE ANTARCTIC ECONOMY

Tourism is the fastest growing portion of the Antarctic economy. Histo rically, the Antarctic economy was first based on early exploration, f ollowed by the commercial development of the whale and seal industries . Since 1958 the largest part of the Antarctic economy has been the pr oduction of scientific research. However, in the 1990s, for the first time the number of tourists is exceeding the number of scientists and support staff, which makes tourism the most important part of the Anta rctic economy when viewed in terms of number of people; although in do llar terms, the level of science and support expenditures is much grea ter.