Icebreakers also routinely carry helicopters for tourist visits and ice reconnaissance. The Akademik Shokalskiy has been operating voyages in the Ross Sea Region and the New Zealand and Sub Antarctic Islands for many years, departing out of Bluff, New Zealand. Since the 1970s there have been occasional voyages from the Peninsula to the Ross Sea, usually including New Zealand and Australian Sub-Antarctic islands. Such staff generally includes ornithologists, marine biologists, general biologists, geologists, glaciologists, historians and naturalists. This is possible through the availability of small, specialized vessels, well suited for polar environments that provide an optimal means to conduct tourism activities in a safe and well-managed way.
Education is an important component of any Antarctic expedition.
Ship-based expeditions provide an opportunity for visitors to experience a wide range of areas of interest, including wildlife sites, historic sites, active research stations, and sites of exceptional wilderness and aesthetic value. Those activities include mountaineering, camping at an Emperor Penguin colony, skiing and other trips to the geographic South Pole. Croydon Travel of Melbourne, Australia sponsors overflights of the continent in conjunction with Qantas. Tourism Statistics Records of tour itineraries and site visits have been maintained for the last 12 years, a valuable resource that is available to researchers. According to these records, approximately 150 sites including 20 research stations have been visited in the Antarctic Peninsula region since 1989.