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Gentoo penguins Pygoscelis papua breed at a number of sites at the West Antarctic Peninsula, including Goudier Island, Port Lockroy—the longest studied location for tourist-penguin interactions in the Antarctic. These penguins annually encounter some of the highest numbers of tourists in the whole of Antarctica. Using yearly count data from all ten colonies on Goudier Island, we report changes in long-term population size and breeding success over a 21 year period (1996/1997 to 2016/2017), documenting inter-annual variability in numbers of breeding pairs and chicks fledged (productivity). We found a 24.5% (1.4% per annum) decrease in breeding pairs; similar declines were evident in breeding pairs at six colonies visited by tourists as well as at four unvisited colonies. Breeding success also declined, with chick numbers declining in visited (53.7%, 3.8% per annum) and unvisited colonies (59.8%, 4.6% per annum). While gentoo penguin numbers are increasing regionally, we reveal a recent decline in the Goudier Island population occurring simultaneous with increases in tourist numbers from 262 in 1996/1997 to 19,688 in 2016/2017. Analyses suggest a complex situation with different possible drivers of change. There was a significant negative effect of increasing air temperature and shifts in sea ice variables on breeding pairs. However, similar statistical support showed a significant link existed between year and visitors, with higher numbers of visitors negatively affecting penguin numbers. Based on our results we recommend increased precaution in management at Goudier Island, and initiation of similar studies at other frequently visited penguin sites in Antarctica.

Antarctica is unique: geographically, environmentally, culturally and politically. Antarctic tourism is a fast growing phenomenon, in 2015/16 over 38,000 people visited Antarctica on a range of tourist trips—cruises, yachts or land-based activities, visiting sites largely around the Antarctic Peninsula. The majority of visitors derive from the United States, Australia, China and the United Kingdom, but the demographics are also fast changing. In the eyes of some, Antarctic tourism works to the detriment of the global effort to preserve Antarctica as the last wilderness. To others this is a unique opportunity to engage a ‘captive’ audience with some of the key issues around environmental conservation and climate change whilst they are immersed in such an environment. Many of the landing sites visited by vessel-based tourists in Antarctica are historic sites with former scientific stations still standing, many with artefacts still inside. There are over ninety designated Historic sites and Monuments (HSMs) in Antarctica and six of the British HSMs are managed by The UK Antarctic Heritage Trust and are visited by the majority of the vessel-based tourists each season. This paper intends to explore the opportunities and some of the modes of engagement for using the historical evidence of human activity in Antarctica to raise awareness of the issues of climate change and to use Antarctic tourism as a vehicle for attitudinal change across cultural and international divides.