Thursday, 21 November 2024
Home Topics Climate Greenland seeks to capitalise on ‘last-chance tourism’
ClimateEnvironmentNews

Greenland seeks to capitalise on ‘last-chance tourism’

23
A woman looks out from a tour boat as it sails away from a glacier between Maniitsoq and Sisimiut in Greeceland (AFP)
Greenland aims to boost tourism amid challenges of global warming. A woman looks out from a tour boat as it sails away from a glacier between Maniitsoq and Sisimiut in Greeceland (AFP)

A frozen landscape with breathtaking views, Greenland wants to attract more tourists, but its remote location and fragile environment — which make it a unique destination — also pose challenges.

“The effects of global heating are at their most pronounced in the Arctic,” Michael Hall, a University of Canterbury professor and tourism expert, told AFP.

Global warming is accelerating “the loss of Arctic sea ice in summer, (as well as) the melting of permafrost, ice shelves and glaciers”, he said, referring to elements that contribute to the island’s uniqueness.

Across Greenland, locals are witnessing first-hand the effects of global warming.

On the southwestern coast, in Maniitsoq, the sea ice has not been solid enough to walk on since 2018. Residents have also seen it shrink from year to year, in addition to less abundant snowfalls.

Tourists are nonetheless awestruck by the vistas.  

“It’s terra incognita,” said Amy Yankovic, a 55-year-old American tourist.

The Texan native travelled for almost 24 hours to get to Greenland, taking three connecting flights.

Tourism accounts for around eight percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the United Nations, most of which is attributed to transportation.

There is “a kind of ‘last-chance tourism’, where visiting these endangered sites is about wanting to see them before they disappear”, said Emmanuel Salim, a geography lecturer at the University of Toulouse in France. 

He said similar destinations such as Churchill in Canada — known as the “polar bear capital of the world” — “have tried to position themselves as places for ‘learning’ about the environment”. 

But while such destinations can raise awareness about better environmental practices, their carbon footprints continue to rise, he lamented.

Developing tourism in a fragile environment is a tricky balancing act.

“Mitigation of the impacts of global heating on the Arctic is a global responsibility,” said Hall, adding that “current mitigation attempts are greatly inadequate.”

Greenlandic authorities insist they want a prudent development of the tourism sector, in order to create jobs.

“In recent years we’ve seen that young people have started to become tour operators,” Maniitsoq mayor Gideon Lyberth told AFP.

“We’re very, very happy, because young people have been leaving here for Nuuk, to live there, but now they’re coming back,” he said.

“Clearly such developments will usually be seen as a good idea, at least in the short term,” Hall said.

cbw/ef/po/lth

© Agence France-Presse

Related Articles

FILE PHOTO: A drilling rig on a lease owned by Oasis Petroleum performs logging operations in the Permian Basin oil and natural gas producing area near Wink, Texas U.S. August 22, 2018. Picture taken August 22, 2018. REUTERS/Nick Oxford/File Photo
FuelNatural Gas

US natural gas drillers to lift 2025 output, reversing year of cuts

Rising demand for natural gas exports should boost average annual gas prices...

FILE PHOTO: The Isla Bella, the first container ship to be powered by liquid natural gas, is pictured before her launch during a nighttime ceremony at General Dynamics NASSCO shipyard in San Diego, California April 18, 2015. REUTERS/Earnie Grafton/File Photo
EmissionsFuelLiquefied Natural GasMaritimeTransport

Container shippers hedging green transition with dual-fuel vessel orders

Decarbonizing shipping is crucial to global efforts to fight climate change because...

CourtsEconomyEmissionsLegislationPolitics

Judge puts stop to governor’s effort to remove Virginia from greenhouse gas initiative

Virginia formally exited the compact at the end of 2023, but the...

FILE PHOTO: Visitors look at the Honda Ye GT electric vehicle displayed at the Beijing International Automotive Exhibition, or Auto China 2024, in Beijing, China, April 25, 2024. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/File Photo
BusinessElectric Vehicles (EVs)ElectricityStorageTransport

Honda hopes to double EV driving range with solid-state batteries, R&D chief says

Solid-state batteries have been touted as a key technology to make longer-lasting,...

Login into your Account

Please login to like, dislike or bookmark this article.