As glaciers around the world continue to shrink and disappear, they are drawing more visitors than ever, not only for their beauty but for what they have come to represent in an era of climate change. A new study co-authored by Rice University anthropologist Cymene Howe examines this phenomenon, showing how melting glaciers have become powerful destinations for tourism, sites of collective grief and symbols of political meaning even as their loss threatens the communities that depend on them.
Published in Nature Climate Change , the paper draws on global case studies to examine how glaciers now occupy multiple roles at once — as fragile landscapes, economic engines and focal points for climate awareness — often creating tensions between conservation, livelihood and environmental responsibility.
"The global loss of glaciers is reason to both mourn and celebrate them. But it also demands that we address the fact that climate change is killing our glaciers," Howe said.
Globally, the world's most visited glaciers now attract more than 14 million tourists each year, the authors note. While tourism has long been part of glacier landscapes, climate change has transformed these icy environments into symbols of loss and, increasingly, destinations for what researchers call "last-chance tourism," where visitors rush to see glaciers before they vanish.
That surge brings emotional weight. Visitors often experience a sense of ecological grief as they witness shrinking ice, altered landscapes and the erosion of cultural and environmental heritage tied to glaciers.
"Most people on Earth will never be able to visit a glacier, and that fact becomes truer every day as they disappear," Howe said. "But the desire is there. To be near these giant bodies of ice is a powerful experience because they are unique natural wonders that move, creak, whisper and invite reflection. For those who live near glaciers, losing them marks an end to cultural forms and an environment that have been millennia in the making."
The study highlights how these emotional responses have led to new rituals and forms of engagement, from educational visitor centers to public ceremonies mourning lost glaciers. In some cases, glaciers have even become rallying points for climate activism and policy change, serving as visible, tangible evidence of global warming.
At the same time, the authors caution that many tourism-driven adaptation strategies risk doing more harm than good. Short-term technical fixes — such as covering glaciers with protective fabrics, expanding infrastructure or increasing helicopter access — may temporarily preserve visitor access while increasing carbon emissions, environmental degradation or economic inequality.
"We always hope that we can fix environmental issues easily, but more often it requires large, infrastructural, systemic changes. Glacier tourism that facilitates access to these majestic sites can often be part of the fossil economy problem that is hastening glaciers' demise," Howe said.
The paper argues that these approaches can delay broader climate action and leave local communities vulnerable as glaciers continue to retreat. In many regions, profits from glacier tourism flow to outside operators, while nearby communities face growing risks related to water scarcity, natural hazards and unstable tourism economies.
Ultimately, the authors call for more research — and more thoughtful policy — around how glacier tourism is managed in a warming world. That includes centering local communities, addressing environmental justice concerns and rethinking tourism models that depend on disappearing landscapes.
"In 2019, we held the first funeral for a glacier ," Howe said. "Now we have a Global Glacier Casualty List that shows how all the world's glaciers are endangered and how people everywhere are hosting memorials for the glaciers they love. Glaciers provide water for us, and they are habitats for both ordinary and extraordinary creatures. The stories glaciers tell us are important because they help us to remember that the world's glaciers don't need to die if we can find better ways to care for them."
As glaciers continue to melt, the study suggests, the challenge is not only how to witness their loss but how to ensure that grief, awareness and tourism do not accelerate the very forces driving their disappearance.
