Antarctic Tourism Future Doubted

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31587, 26 January 1968, Page 26

Antarctic Tourism Future Doubted

(New Zealand Press Association) SCOTT BASE, January 25. At Scott Base yesterday, the leader of the Magga Dan tourist party (Mr Lars-Eric Lindblad) confessed doubts about the future of tourism in Antarctica. “Small numbers of tourists are not economic and a larger group of about 100—which is the desirable number from my point of view—would be too disturbing to science areas,” he said.

Mr Lindblad said he was still negotiating with the Danish Lauritzen Line to rebuild one of its larger ships for polar tourist cruises. The type of vessel available to him at present restricted passenger accommodation.

Mr Lindblad said flying tourists to Antartica was definitely out of the question. There would be nowhere to house the tourists or service aircraft; and places of interest would be difficult, if not impossible, to visit. “Another problem with air transport is that all the coastal beauty- of Antarctica would be by-passed,” he said. The returning Magga Dan will berth at Bluff, not Wellington as originally planned. “Because of unforeseen delays the Magga Dan will also sail from Bluff on the second voyage,” Mr Lindblad said. “1 expect it will take about three days to turn the vessel around.” Enjoying Trip The return voyage from Bluff is scheduled to start on February 7. The most senior membet of the party, Mrs Jessie May Wright, of Baton Rouge. California, said that although the

10 days at sea were uncomfortable, she was enjoying the trip nonetheless. She was on the first Antarctic tourist cruise to Gramland, south of South America, last year Mr Robert C. Marston, of Los Angeles, said that although he had looked forward to the trip, there had been many disappointments. “We came, we saw and that was all,” he said. Miss Betty Jane Boudreau, a political writer for the Governor of New York, Mr Rockefeller, said her cruise was fulfilling the dream of a lifetime*. ‘Some Excitement’ "The grounding caused some excitement and I have really enjoyed seeing the things I have seen,” she said. A honeymooning couple, Mr and Mrs George Holton, of Guatemala, said that in spite of the cold, separate cabins, midnight sun and the Magga Dan's grounding, everything was going well. The cruise doctor. Dr R. L. Sexton, of Washington, D.C., said there had been little or no sea sickness on the voyage from New Zea-

! land although many of the I passengers contracted colds (and virus. I The general travel manager for Holm Travel Service, Ltd, Mr R. G. Stevenson, said in Wellington yesterday that Mr Lindblad’s statement was entirely his own responsibility and that the Holm Company could make no statement until the ship returned to New Zealand. Mr J. F. Beckett, superintendent of Thos Cook, Ltd, in New Zealand, said yesterday that the Magga Dan voyage was an experiment in tourism. Referring to her grounding for 37 hours, he said that people adventurous enough to like such a holiday would not really be upset by such a happening. However, he said he could not see regular cruises to the Antarctic being made within the foreseeable future.