Many tour operators claim that tourists after a visit to Antarctica become ambassadors. However, what this ambassadorship means is not well understood. In this project we will study the meaning of the Antarctic Ambassadorship and which factors have an influence on it. The following factors will be examined: the role of guides, group size, cultural values and the kind of activities tourist do. We expect to use this knowledge to develop tools that can support pro-environmental behaviour.

Tourism in Antarctica is growing and diversifying, with unclear impacts for nature, heritage and science programmes. At the same time, states find it very difficult to agree on policies, which is why we have to rely on the goodwill of tour operators, organizations and governments to organize tourism in an environmentally friendly way. This project examines how these forms of environmental stewardship can be understood, assessed, enhanced and embedded in various private and public governance institutions. In this way we give Antarctic tourism an environmentally sustainable push in the right direction.