Sea Ice in Canada’s Arctic: Implications for Cruise Tourism

Abstract

Although cruise travel to the Canadian Arctic has grown steadily since 1984, some commentators have suggested that growth in this sector of the tourism industry might accelerate, given the warming effects of climate change that are making formerly remote Canadian Arctic communities more accessible to cruise vessels. Using sea-ice charts from the Canadian Ice Service, we argue that Global Climate Model predictions of an ice-free Arctic as early as 2050-70 may lead to a false sense of optimism regarding the potential exploitation of all Canadian Arctic waters for tourism purposes. This is because climate warming is altering the character and distribution of sea ice, increasing the likelihood of hullpenetrating, high-latitude, multi-year ice that could cause major pitfalls for future navigation in some places in Arctic Canada. These changes may have negative implications for cruise tourism in the Canadian Arctic, and, in particular, for tourist transits through the Northwest Passage and High Arctic regions.

Mapping Human Dimensions of Climate Change Research in the Canadian Arctic

“…Mining development is already expanding rapidly and future climatic conditions are projected to be beneficial for future expansion of the industry Ford et al 2011c), while posing risks for certain mining practices (e.g., use of ice roads for transport and reliance of permafrost for mine tailings). Climate change may also create new opportunities for commercial fishing and cruise tourism (Stewart et al 2007). There is a paucity of studies examining potential economic opportunities, and how they can be best promoted and managed, consistent with the general climate change scholarship ).…”

The Sinking of the M.S. <i>Explorer</i>: Implications for Cruise Tourism in Arctic Canada

“…During this record-breaking season, the Explorer operated three different cruise tours in Arctic Canada, which included shore visits to the communities of Arctic Bay, Grise Fiord, Pond Inlet, Kimmirut, Cape Dorset, Pangnirtung, Clyde River, and Iqaluit. She also visited some of these northern communities in the summer in 2007, during her last Arctic journey (for more detail on cruise trends in the Canadian Arctic, see Stewart et al, 2007).…”

Near-real-time Arctic sea ice thickness and volume from CryoSat-2

“…Tilling et al, 2015). Similarly, although forecasts could benefit the planning of Arctic operations (Meier et al, 2014;Stewart et al, 2007), day-to-day activities require measurements with far greater spatial and temporal sampling than can be achieved using a single satellite altimeter.…”