Consuming placelessness: a geographic critique of current Antarctic tourism development

Samenvatting

This paper explores the ongoing development of products, activities, and experiences in the rapidly expanding Antarctic tourism industry and their potential implications for the production of Antarctic places. Informed by theories of place and placelessness, the paper identifies three particular place framings informed by tourism diversification: the compression of time and space, the detachment of Antarctica from Earth, and the progressive consumption of wilderness through luxury and comfort. The paper argues that these dynamics may contribute to a detachment from the ways in which Antarctic places are situationally and materially assembled, leading to the abstraction, simplification, and obfuscation of socio-material relations making for a place. The possible consequence is the transformation of the Antarctic into a placeless space of consumption. By emphasizing the detachment facilitated by certain prominent activities and infrastructure, the paper contributes to debates about tourism destination development, urging consideration of how tourism can be shaped to foster an appreciation of places in their own right.