Redefining ‘antarctic ambassadorship’: a systematic review and conceptual clarification

The concept of “Antarctic ambassadorship” suggests that visiting Antarctica inspires tourists to advocate for environmental protection. However, its definition and measurement remain unclear, limiting the ability to assess the true impact of polar travel. To address this gap, we conduct a systematic literature review on Antarctic ambassadorship through the lens of Value-Belief-Norm (VBN) theory. This research provides two critical contributions to the field. First, it clarifies the meaning of “ambassadorship” by mapping the psychological transformation from biospheric values to a felt moral obligation to act, and subsequently to pro-environmental actions. Specifically, it shows how witnessing environmental threats (problem awareness), connecting one’s personal footprint to those threats (ascribed responsibility), and believing that one can act to reduce them (outcome efficacy) are catalyzed by a deep emotional connection to the landscape, triggering a moral commitment to protect the region. Second, it proposes a novel framework that operationalizes ambassadorship behaviour by categorizing it into three distinct domains: sustainable living practices, everyday environmental activism, and political and societal engagement. By separating internal drivers from observable actions, our VBN-based framework resolves conceptual confusion and supports both empirical research on ambassadorship and the development of interventions that encourage verifiable environmental protection behaviours among polar region visitors.