Go Now or It's Gone Forever — How "Last Chance Tourism" Is Accelerating Environmental Destruction

The Editor says: As climate change intensifies, breathtaking destinations around the world are edging closer to disappearance, fuelling the rise of "last chance tourism." This trend — driven by the urge to witness places before they vanish — is placing additional pressure on already fragile natural landscapes. Through strict regulation and the promotion of green travel, there is still an opportunity to protect these precious environments. Raising environmental awareness and education, and encouraging travellers to become active conservation advocates, is the key to the future. This article is reprinted with permission from the Low Carbon Living Blog.

As climate change worsens — glaciers melting, Arctic sea ice retreating, forests consumed by wildfires, and Pacific island nations swallowed by rising seas — many of the world's once-celebrated natural wonders are fading away. The desire to witness these landscapes before they disappear has given rise to "last chance tourism," yet this very trend is pushing already fragile environments into an even more precarious position.

"See It Before It's Gone" — A Selling Point That Puts Fragile Sites Under Even Greater Pressure

Although the Chinese term translates literally as "doomsday tourism," a more accurate rendering of the English original is "last chance tourism." For the native ecosystems and unique species found in these places, however, "doomsday" may feel all too imminent — precisely because visitor numbers are surging.

Last chance tourism was already being discussed in academic research as early as 2010. Between 2017 and 2018, a similar concept — "extinction tourism" — also emerged, marketing trips around wildlife on the brink of disappearance. Both share the same core pitch: see it now, or never see it at all.

The trend extends beyond natural landscapes and wildlife. Among the world's most popular destinations under threat — in addition to the polar regions, the Great Barrier Reef, and glaciers and icebergs worldwide — are Venice, which may one day be submerged by rising sea levels; the Taj Mahal and the Parthenon in Athens, both suffering accelerated damage from acid rain; and the Mogao Caves at Dunhuang, where hotter, more humid conditions are causing murals to flake and caverns to collapse at an increasing rate.

Because conditions are deteriorating and disappearance feels imminent, travellers from around the world are flooding into regions that are inherently fragile. Whether it is the sheer volume of visitors exceeding the environment's carrying capacity, or the pollution and waste that large crowds bring, the net effect is to hasten the very loss of these world-class landscapes.

Antarctica Tourist Numbers Surge; Arctic Ship Noise Disrupts Narwhals

According to the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO), the number of tourists travelling to Antarctica has skyrocketed over the past decade, reaching 74,000 in the 2019–2020 season alone. A 2022 study found that each cruise passenger travelling to Antarctica generates between 3.2 and 4.1 tonnes of carbon emissions per trip — already more than half the per capita annual emissions of residents in advanced economies such as those of the European Union (approximately 6 tonnes). Add up the emissions of every tourist, and the figure becomes truly staggering.

The primary reason places like Antarctica are becoming "disappearing destinations" in the first place is global temperature rise driven by increasing atmospheric CO₂ concentrations — and rising carbon emissions only accelerate that process. Beyond this, Antarctica's ecosystem is exceptionally fragile: the "black carbon footprint" produced by human activity and fossil fuel use darkens the surface of snow and ice, creating conditions that promote even faster melting.

Ship-generated artificial light and underwater noise are also taking a toll on marine ecosystems. Andrew Dumbrille, an adviser to the non-governmental organisation Clean Arctic Alliance, has pointed out that sound travels farther through Arctic waters than through temperate seas, disrupting the migratory behaviour of species such as narwhals.

Eke Eijgelaar, a senior researcher at the Centre for Sustainability, Tourism and Transport at Breda University in the Netherlands, told Climate Impacts Tracker Asia that while many industries are working to cut their carbon emissions, the tourism sector's emissions continue to rise as passenger volumes grow. Last chance tourism, he argued, only pulls the travel industry further away from climate targets.

Is "Last Chance" Already a Foregone Conclusion? The Power to Change the Story Lies With Us

In fact, some experts argue that framing these places as "last chance" destinations implies their disappearance is already inevitable. While the surge in tourist numbers undeniably brings more carbon emissions, pollution, noise, and waste — and is genuinely pushing these sites that desperately need protection closer to their end — policy changes and concrete action can still turn the tide.

Governments and international bodies are working to establish stricter regulations in these areas: limiting visitor numbers, revising rules governing tour operators, and promoting greener forms of travel that are more in harmony with nature or better integrated with local communities. The aim is not only to reduce the impact of outside visitors, but also to give local people an incentive to protect the distinctive landscapes that continue to generate income for them.

In the Amazon rainforest, for instance, ecotourism programmes employ community members as guides who share traditional ecological knowledge with visitors throughout the tour. This approach helps tourists develop a genuine understanding of the local environment while providing stable livelihoods for local communities. Meanwhile, "regenerative travel" — which advocates for restoration and reforestation and involves tourists directly in the process of rehabilitating degraded environments — has already been put into widespread practice across Africa.

At the same time, stakeholders must ensure that mitigation measures are thoroughly thought through. Australia's Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, for example, announced a complete ban on climbing Uluru — a World Heritage Site that had been damaged by tourists scrambling over its surface — effective from 2019. The announcement triggered a rush of visitors eager to climb before the ban took effect, ultimately causing more severe environmental harm than before.

Ultimately, however, no matter how comprehensive the supporting measures may be, the most important factor remains education and the cultivation of genuine environmental awareness — encouraging travellers to exercise self-discipline. As long as this style of tourism continues to exist, finding ways to help visitors truly understand the situation and become more mindful of environmental issues — or even inspire them to become active advocates for conservation — is a direction very much worth pursuing.

References

• The Week (7 March 2024), Why last-chance tourism is the latest controversial travel trend
• Greenly Institute (12 April 2024), What is last chance tourism?
• Climate Impacts Tracker Asia (25 March 2024), How Last Chance Tourism Kills Imperiled Destinations
• The Guardian (8 March 2024), Environmental row over 'last chance tourism' in Canada's melting Arctic
• Getaway (23 May 2024), Top destinations that are vanishing
• Adventure Collection blog, EXTINCTION TOURISM: SEEING WILD ANIMALS BEFORE THEY'RE GONE
• Full article reprinted from: 再不去就消失了 你的「末日旅遊」正在加速環境毀滅-作者 李昱德