The Antarctic scientific research travel project has become popular on the Internet recently. A 17 day Antarctic expedition with a price tag of 129000 yuan will be launched in seconds. Not only the Antarctic, but also the Arctic, islands, volcanic craters, tropical rainforests, the East African prairie, the ancient Tea Horse Road... More and more people are going to the distant places to deeply understand and experience the beauty of science and human stories behind the scenery.
"In my opinion, scientific research tourism is actually a 'research tourism' that can be participated in by all ages of adults and minors. It is not just sightseeing, but more emphasis on the scientific investigation objectives in the tourism process, which is characterized by adventure and participation." Wu Wenjia, a master tutor of the School of Culture, Tourism and Geography of Guangdong University of Finance and Economics, told the Workers' Daily, In fact, the threshold of scientific research tour is not as high as expected.
Spend nearly 10000 yuan to participate in the volcanic scientific research project
"Expensive" is the primary reason why most tourists flinch from scientific research tours. Indeed, the price of the highly discussed polar exploration is basically more than 100000 yuan. However, polar exploration is only a relatively special and professional product in the scientific research tour, which does not represent all.
The reporter saw on the official account of "China National Geographic Science Expedition" that most of the domestic and foreign routes selling products with prices ranging from 10000 yuan to 20000 yuan covered natural science expedition, world heritage expedition, historical geography expedition and other directions.
In a large tourism platform, the average price of Kenyan animal migration scientific research products in about 10 days is about 13000 yuan. If the "extended version" and "upgraded version" of the research and study tour are used as the standard for investigation, the products of science and study tour in the market that focus on astronomy, hydrology, karst caves, and rocket launch can cost hundreds to thousands of yuan.
Gu Mengxin, a senior high school student from the International High School of Longyou Lake Foreign Language School in Rugao City, Jiangsu Province, participated in a scientific examination project of Mount Aershan volcano this summer, which cost 9800 yuan. "Each section of the itinerary is equipped with experts in different fields to give cross presentations, and there will also be separate practical or theoretical courses in the evening."
What surprised Xiao Gu was that some of her teammates were engaged in clinical medicine, water treatment, primary school students and middle-aged people. They talked about travel, geography and life together, which benefited her greatly. This trip also strengthened her determination to apply for the geography major.
Wu Wenjia believes that the scientific research tour should be a relatively niche project in the short term The improvement of skills and even character.
Antarctica is also a distance that can be reached
According to the statistics of the International Association of Antarctic Tourists (IAATO), China is the second largest source country of tourists landing in Antarctica. As early as the Antarctic tourism season from 2017 to 2018, the number of Chinese tourists reached 8273, accounting for 16% of the global Antarctic tourists, second only to the United States. The number of Chinese tourists in the Antarctic tourism season from 2022 to 2023 will reach 1464.
Li Zhuoran was one of those who realized the "Antarctic Dream". At the beginning of this year, she accidentally booked a trip to the three islands in Antarctica on a 40 day sailing date, and conducted a 22 day scientific research tour. When talking about the feelings brought to her by this trip, she said the most words were "moved". "Because it is an international ship, and most of the ships are friends from all over the world, you will find many 'invisible experts'. There are 14 polar trips, astrophysicists, 83 year old grannies with nieces to fulfill their commitments 50 years ago... In this process, I also realized that only by communicating and going out, can we broaden our horizons and see more people's lives."
Li Zhuoran said that the safety factor of her Antarctic scientific expedition was actually very high. The only "dangerous situation" she encountered was that she met an "angry" female seal when landing, and chased the tourists for two kilometers until everyone got on the boat. "Experienced explorers and scientists will protect tourists in front, so they are just safe."
In addition to enjoying the scenery, Li Zhuoran's harvest also comes from various lectures on the ship. "From climate, geology, birds, fish, to lectures on human history and biosafety knowledge, I can now recognize eight kinds of penguins, seven kinds of whales, various kinds of sea lions and seals, and know many stories of explorers, routes of Antarctic territory, and various bays and islands... The knowledge learned will also be used in landing exploration or observation on the deck."
For those who are eager for knowledge, science travel is more cost-effective
Unlike ordinary travel, scientific research tours are usually led by experts in history and archaeology, geology and nature, animals and plants, and travel with scientists and industry experts. The whole journey is a very small destination, with more immersive explanations and exploratory experiences. For travelers who care about experience and people who want to travel knowledge, This kind of product is quite cost-effective.
Wu Wenjia believes that for target customer groups, scientific tourism products may develop in three aspects: knowledge-based routes, post-80s and post-90s tourists have strong physical fitness and compression resistance, and have strong cognitive ability for new things; Participatory route, design and launch scientific examination courses suitable for the corresponding age group, so that both parents and children can deeply participate in the travel process; Experiential route, aiming at the high net worth middle-aged market, the tourism supporting facilities are close to the luxury type, and seek personal meaning in the travel experience.
Although the threshold of funds, knowledge and skills required for the science tour is not as high as expected, there are still many requirements and challenges in many aspects. Most scientific research tourism destinations are sparsely populated and relatively far away from cities. It is difficult to get timely response from the rescue team when encountering security incidents or extreme events. Tourists also bear the risks brought by diseases, crisis events, etc. in activities.
At the same time, transnational scientific research tour is a cross regional behavior, and tourists should abide by local policies and regulations. More importantly, it is necessary to strictly abide by the relevant regulations specified by the organizers of scientific research tours, and avoid damaging the ecological environment and natural specimens concerned by scientific research tours.
"As a new form of tourism, scientific research tour should not only consider supporting facilities and emergency plans, but also adjust relevant laws and regulations as well as cooperation programs between countries in a timely manner," Wu Wenjia said.
