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still a larger volume of international tourism to
this country.
polar
KRZYSZTOF PRZECLAWSKI, POLAND
Polar regions lie poleward of the tree line �roughly
608 latitude) where the average temperature of the
warmest month remains below 508 Fahrenheit. In
the north, stunted slow-growing tundra vegetation
�mosses, sedges and lichens) provides sparse cover
over heavily glaciated bedrock and permafrost
�permanently frozen ground and ice). Long sunny
summer days, the midnight sun, a carpet of
wildflowers and outdoor recreation opportunities
attract adventure tourism including fishing,
hiking and canoeing/rafting. There is limited
road access in both Europe and North America.
Winter tourism is usually limited to festival events
including watching the aurora borealis and migratory
polar bears. The rich marine life in the Arctic
Ocean supports unique indigenous cultures such
as the Alaskan±Canadian±Greenland Inuit and the
Scandinavian Saami, whose ancestral lifestyles
are now a focus for ethnic tourism. In the
Siberian Arctic, summer flooding on the deltas of
several northward flowing rivers creates vast
marshes and shore access is difficult. Here, inland
tribes such as the Tungus, Samoyed and Chulcchi
domesticated reindeer centuries ago and used these
animals for sledging. The polar region is a fragile
environment, and especial care must be given to
spatial development and land use.
The Antarctic continent, fifth largest in size
�5,000,000 square miles) lies entirely within the
polar region, and is the coldest, driest and windiest
area on earth. More remote, it is accessible only
during the Austral summer, by ice-strengthened
cruise ships and by limited air services. It is
particularly noted for sea mammals and penguins,
as well as dramatic glacial scenery. Antarctica is
geographically unique because it is a mirror
image of the Arctic �a land mass surrounded by
seas) and no single nation holds sovereignty over
any land in this vast terrain. Following two
centuries of progressive exploration and consequent
land claims, the International Geophysical
Year �1957±58) established the need for an
international accord and the Antarctic Treaty
was signed on 1 December 1959. Austral summer
cruise tourism began in 1958 and increased slowly
but steadily; in the mid-1990s, some 6,000
passengers cruised its coast. A land-based touring
operation, Adventure Network International provides
DHC-6 Twin Otter flights to the South Pole
and aerial support for explorers and adventure
tourism skiers.
In the absence of sovereignty and thus a total
lack of policy or planning, in 1989 three
Antarctic cruise line operators plus Adventure
Network International founded the International
Association of Antarctic Tour Operators and
established two sets of guidelines, one for tour
operators and another for Antarctic visitors.
Comparable standardised regulations were then
signed in Madrid at the 1991 Antarctic Treaty
Consultative Meeting, and are known as the
`Protocols on Environmental Protection to the
Antarctic Treaty'. Subsequently, the US National
Science Foundation has sponsored on-board monitors
for each sailing to ensure the protocols are
observed.
See also: Antarctic tourism; Arctic tourism
Further reading
Smith, V. and Splettstoesser, J. �eds) �1994)
Àntarctic tourism', special issue of Annals of
Tourism Research 21�2).
policy
policy 445
VALENE L. SMITH, USA
Policy is a key concept in government, political
and business studies. Business policy refers to the
guidelines that managers use in making decisions.
In the study of tourism, however, the majority of
researchers use the term with respect to government,
state or public policy. There is no universally
accepted definition of public policy. Its analysis
may be generally described as whatever governments
choose to do or not to do. This description
covers government action, inaction, decisions and
non-decisions as they imply a deliberate choice