| Commercial tourism in Antarctica began in 1957 but only became a serious activity in 1969. In that year Lars-Eric Linblad took his purpose built Antarctic tour ship - Linblad Explorer - to the Antarctic for the first time. Since then the industry has grown considerably both in numbers and diversity.
Whilst most tourists still visit on ship-borne cruises, some now take overflights from Australia or South America, others fly in to a blue ice airfield and climb mountains or ski to the South Pole. More recently there have been sky diving attempts and SCUBA diving holidays will be available next year.
Most tourists visit the Antarctic Peninsula and offshore islands to see the scenery, the wildlife and some of the historical sites of the early explorers. A small but increasing minority are now looking for other activities in Antarctica - sky diving, climbing, surfing, diving, ski walking - which may pose difficult safety issues in the future.
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