What drives people to risk it all with extreme tourism?

In a doomed mission nearly a year ago to the day, the OceanGate Titan submersible set off from Cape Cod to visit the wreck of the Titanic.

Just 90 minutes into the journey, contact with the vessel was lost, and a massive search and rescue operation was launched.

For days, the world waited with bated breath as reports came in of banging noises coming from the deep.

But the search was in vain, and it later emerged that all five aboard the submersible had been killed instantly in a "catastrophic implosion".

The disaster has done little to deter others from attempting the same journey, with US billionaire Larry Connor reportedly planning another trip to the famous wreck.

So why do people risk their lives to go on such dangerous trips?

Anne Hardy from the University of Tasmania told Breakfast there was a long list of reasons why people engaged in what she called frontier tourism.

She said, for some people, living on the edge was a form of excitement.

"It makes them feel alive, and it confirms what they have in their life when they return."

She said ego could also motivate people to climb Mt Everest or hop in a submersible.

"They want to do the next thing; do the best thing; do the first thing; or do the deepest thing.

"It’s really about pushing the boundaries of where you’re going."

However, Hardy said a lot of people were passionate about the place being visited.

"They’re going down there to either think that they’re helping collect research or contribute to knowledge on these particular environments."

She said internet accessibility was a big factor in frontier tourism becoming more extreme.

"You’ve got to remember, 30 years ago we weren’t on the internet — we were travelling with Lonely Planet and that type of thing.

"And the ability to go to the frontier and go out of contact with other people was much easier, whereas now, that’s much harder."

Hardy also said people were often driven by a sense of community and belonging.

"They have groups of friends who travel and push the boundaries of life and death – and you think of mountaineers who do.

"Their community are people that they gather around with and are people they feel comfortable with who also do the same thing.”

Hardy said a lot of people going on these trips thought of themselves as modern-day explorers – which, in a sense, they were.

“That’s all in our own heads, isn’t it?” she said. "Going down in a submersible, right down into the Mariana Trench, or the Titanic, it’s probably as dangerous as very early exploration."