BRUSSELS — A deadly outbreak of the rare hantavirus aboard a Dutch cruise ship on a polar voyage has brought renewed scrutiny to the explosive growth of Antarctic tourism, which scientists and environmental groups say is outpacing safeguards designed to protect the continent’s fragile ecosystem.
The MV Hondius left Ushuaia, Argentina, on April 1 and traveled to Antarctica and several isolated islands before the outbreak was detected, according to the World Health Organization. Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO’s director of epidemic and pandemic preparedness, said Tuesday that the agency is investigating possible human-to-human transmission of the virus, which typically spreads through contact with rodent droppings. Officials suspect the first infected person likely contracted the virus before boarding and have been told there are no rats on the ship.
The outbreak is occurring against a backdrop of surging interest in polar tourism. In 2024, more than 80,000 tourists set foot on the vast ice-cloaked continent, with another 36,000 viewing from the decks of cruise ships, according to data collected by the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators. The Union of Concerned Scientists estimates that tourism to the region has increased tenfold in the past three decades.
Hanne Nielsen, a senior lecturer in Antarctic law at the University of Tasmania, said her colleagues project that annual visitor figures could triple or quadruple to more than 400,000 within the next ten years as costs fall and more ice-capable hulls enter service. Some travelers, she noted, are drawn by “last chance tourism” — the desire to see Antarctica before its melting landscapes are permanently altered. From 2002 to 2020, Antarctica shed roughly 149 billion metric tons of ice per year, according to NASA.
“The sites you will see in Antarctica are extremely unique and not replicable anywhere else on the planet — the whales, the seals, the penguins, the icebergs — it’s all really stunning and it makes a huge impression on people,” said Claire Christian, executive director of the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition.
The continent’s allure, however, carries mounting risks. Health authorities have not indicated any evidence of contamination from the Hondius, but the outbreak follows the arrival of avian flu in Antarctica via migratory birds in recent years, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That prompted the tour operators’ association and other groups to harden rules for tourist conduct and hygiene. Visitors are instructed to keep their distance from wildlife and to avoid touching the ground with anything except their feet. Crews and passengers use vacuums, disinfectants, and brushes to scrub boots and equipment free of bugs, feathers, seeds, and microbe-laden dirt.
“There are rules that people are bound by when they’re heading south,” said Nielsen, who made five voyages as a former guide. “Between the tongues and the laces of the boots you can find a lot of things.”
Cruise ships have a history of disease outbreaks, including norovirus and the COVID-19 outbreak aboard the Diamond Princess in 2020, which transformed the vessel into an incubator for the then-new virus. The Hondius case adds hantavirus to a growing list of pathogens that can spread in the close quarters of a ship, raising the stakes for an industry that brings ever-larger numbers of people into one of the world’s most isolated environments.
Antarctica is governed by the Antarctic Treaty, signed in 1959, which enshrined the territory as a scientific preserve used only for peaceful purposes. A series of subsequent rules aim to ensure that all visits do not adversely affect the continent’s environment or its scientific and aesthetic values. However, Christian noted from Hiroshima, Japan, where she was preparing for an Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting, that the treaty was written when tourism numbers were far smaller.
“Activity needs to be regulated appropriately, as you would with any of the world’s sensitive and precious ecological sites,” Christian said. She and other advocates intend to press for stronger protections for the penguins, whales, seabirds, seals, and krill that anchor the Antarctic food web.
For now, the frozen frontier continues to draw visitors, lured by a landscape that holds every mark made upon it.
“You can put a footprint in Antarctica and it’s still there 50 years later,” Christian said.