Cape Town, for many years a launching point for early sea explorations, is now one of five official ’gateway cities’ to Antartica, an international arrangement that is set to generate substantial economic benefits for the mother city.

Along with Christchurch in New Zealand, Hobart in Australia, Ushuaia in Argentina and Punta Arenas in Chile, the City has signed a statement of intent that binds it to jointly explore the benefits of academic and best practice exchange in respect of Antarctica. 

The other cities already have significant Antarctic tourism, outreach and academic programmes. “Besides its Antarctic academic programme at the University of Canterbury and inclusion in the school curriculum, New Zealand’s most visited tourist attraction, the International Antarctic Centre, provides visitors with a simulated experience of Antarctica, including its storms, snow and ice, “says Alderman Felicity Purchase, Mayco member for Economic Development and Tourism, who signed the agreement on Cape Town’s behalf in September last year.

Other tourism initiatives include catering for Antarctic-bound tourists. Most people get there by small or medium ship, and on arrival are flown onto the mainland to try their hand at mountaineering, skiing, or visiting the South Pole. The tourism market is big, with some 24 000 people visiting the continent via Ushuaia and Punta Arenas each year, despite the absence of any tourism infrastructure for them once they’ve arrived.

“This is because Antarctica is a unique environment, where visitors are required to adhere to strict environment management requirements” explains Henry Valentine, Director : Antarctica & Islands, Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT).  “It is a continent that belongs to no single country. Instead, it is used exclusively for peaceful and scientific purposes by the 48 member countries, most of which have research bases there, including South Africa. Many visitors are attracted to it on account of its desolate, windswept icy beauty. In the 2007-2008 summer season, there were 46 265 visitors.”

Cape Town’s proximity to Antarctica, along with its sophisticated infrastructure and high level of technical and logistical support, means that the city has become increasingly popular as a provider of scientific and logistical support to vessels headed there and back - hence its development into a gateway city.

Besides South Africa’s own research station (SANAE) and polar research vessel (the SA Aghulhas, which ferries teams and supplies to South Africa’s bases on Gough and Marion islands and SANAE), the city currently services eight countries (Norway, Belgium, Germany, India, Russia, the United Kingdom, Finland, Sweden and Japan) for their Antarctic and South Sea expeditions by  supplying their maritime and aviation requirements. 

“Polar vessels generally spend in excess of R7.5 million per visit on supplies, equipment and building material whilst here, and the DEAT spends R1.5 million per annum on repairs to machinery coming back from Antarctica,” says Cllr Purchase. “The newness of South Africa’s base, SANAE in Antarctica and its weather station on Marion Island puts Cape Town at the forefront of this technology. A South African consortium based in Paarden Eiland has been awarded the contract to build the new British Base at Halley Bay. The contract value for this project is in excess of R260 million.”

The potential for increasing Cape Town’s Antarctic logistical support and supply industry is huge. The Cape Higher Education Consortium (CHEC) is already discussing knowledge and resource sharing with Canterbury University and the MTN Sciencentre is looking into modelling an exhibition on the Antarctic Centre. Already, the centre hosts an open day (26 June 2010) on the SA Aghullas. This features a mini-exhibition and a number of talks by researchers, says Julie Cleverdon, Director MTN Sciencentre. “Because of its ‘icy charm’ and the trials of living and working in this, the coldest place on earth, it has certainly captured our visitors’ attention.”

South Africa has maintained an interest and presence in Antarctic since 1959. It is a signatory to the Antarctic Treaty, which serves as the framework for all activities undertaken there. The country’s meteorological stations on Gough Island (2  610 km from Cape Town) and Marion Island (2 170 km from Cape Town ) are vital for weather predictions and monitoring, and its Antarctic scientific programme, besides being a matter of national pride, contributes to international efforts to counter global warming and understand climate variability (past, present and future). Besides containing 70% of the world’s fresh water in the ice that covers it, the Antarctic is also known as the world’s thermometer. It is here that scientists can best study the effects of global warming and the hole in the ozone layer, and so help save the planet.