More travelers are venturing to the Antarctic coast. The International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators, which just celebrated its 25^th birthday, announced travel to the region was up by 4.6 percent during the most recent Antarctic travel season, with more than 38,000 visitors. Visitor numbers have risen annually since 2011, and the upcoming season is expected to host an additional 5,000 visitors over last year. However, the region’s peak season was in 2007, with more than 46,000 travelers making the arduous journey during the austral summer. IAATO estimates only about 1.1 percent of travelers actually venture into the Antarctic interior, with most visitors seaborne, cruising travelers making the trip from South America. A small portion do not even make landing, though landings continue to grow in popularity. The most recent season showed a large increase in Chinese travelers visiting the region, as they moved to third place behind the larger numbers of American and Australian travelers. Bringing up the rear were travelers from the United Kingdom, Germany and Canada. “The last 25 years have shown that with careful management it is possible for visitors to experience Antarctica without having an adverse impact on the environment. However, the appetite to visit Antarctica is clearly still strong so IAATO must build on the foundations laid down in the past to meet future challenges and opportunities in order to support the long-term conservation of Antarctica,” said Dr. Kim Crosbie, executive director, IAATO.