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High carbon holidays in Antarctica - 13th December 2019

Announcement: "Ladies and gentlemen, have a wonderful first day here in Antarctica, be sure to dress up warmly and

enjoy!"

Only brave adventurers used to visit Antarctica. Now Antarctica is a new destination for tourists. They are

visiting on luxury cruise ships. 78,000 tourists are going to visit the continent between March and November.

This new type of holiday is a strange choice because each tourist makes 5 tonnes of CO2 on their journey.

Antarctica is already feeling the effects of climate change.

Karin Strand is responsible for the expeditions. She is a vice-president of the company that owns the ship.

Karin Strand: "It's a hybrid-powered expedition ship which is the first of its kind. It is a comfortable bubble in a very, very inhospitable environment."

It's very comfortable and luxurious. But this ship's customers are also explorers. Employees try hard to help these 'explorers' succeed on their trip.

Paul Ranheim: "As you see we have made a zigzag set for the route up so that it's easy to walk. You don't walk straight ahead. You can say that we are preparing the adventure."

Entertainment on the ship also has an environmental focus. There are libraries, microscopes and presentations. Scientists also lead trips by boat. Allison Cusick is one of the scientists.

Allison Cusick: "You have passengers coming down, which provides a great opportunity for them to be involved in actual science that's going on, in a region of the world where we don't have a lot of data."

Verena Meraldi organises scientific trips.

Verena Meraldi: "We are also increasing the awareness of our guests on the problems of climate change, for example, and the many changes that are taking place."

But there is still a big question. Should high numbers of tourists be allowed?