Regenerative Tourism
Redefining Place for visitors and residents
Introduction
The push for sustainability in tourism isn’t a new concept, but for some, the more recent focus on regenerative tourism is something of a watershed moment. While it means many things to many people, it’s easier to reframe regenerative tourism as an elastic — rather than elusive — concept. After all, it’s thanks to this flexible nature that destinations large and small can easily bend and shape the concept of regenerative tourism to suit both their needs and those of their visitors.
If you missed our “Redefining Place with Regenerative Tourism” webinar featuring Elke Dens, Founder of Place Generation, Charlotte Goy, Chief Executive of Destination Lincolnshire, and Stuart Aitken, Head of Digital at Marketing Manchester this eBook provides the key takeaways.
Five practical steps, each geared toward destinations eager to progress on their regenerative journeys.
Take an active approach
Blaze your own path
Start small, stay agile
Grab a seat - make yourself heard
Regenerative
tourism is really a kind of tourism that has a net positive impact on a place.”
– ELKE DENS,
Founder of Place Generation
The concept of regenerative tourism began to surface in mainstream conversation within the tourism industry in 2019. Tourism expert Anna Pollock put regenerative tourism strongly on the agenda with Visit Flanders and the Travel to Tomorrow Summit.
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It’s what you make of it
Top tip no 1 - Don’t get caught up in definitions and wording: this is an elastic and dynamic concept.
The consensus is clear: there’s no hard and fast definition of regenerative tourism.
But — unlike conventional tourism — regenerative tourism is not extractive in nature. On the contrary, it goes one step beyond sustainable tourism to offer visitors the opportunity to make a positive impact on a place and its people.
For example, while both Lincolnshire and Manchester are in the early stages of their respective regenerative tourism journeys, both see the concept as an opportunity to use tourism as a force for good within the places they represent and as a way to make a positive impact on their respective local economies.
Even with just this small slice of insight, you get a clear sense of just how fluid this concept can be — and that’s a good thing.
Take an active approach
Top tip no 2 - Ask yourself: Who truly has a vested interest in the successful implementation of regenerative tourism in my area?
Local residents should absolutely be considered as key stakeholders during the course of your regenerative journey. Engage with and listen to them. When it comes to the interplay between regenerative tourism and your stakeholders, it pays to keep an open mind. During our webinar, our panellists highlighted the need for Destination Marketing Organisations (DMOs) to take a much more active approach to stakeholder engagement, especially during and before the implementation of any regenerative tourism strategy.
DMOs should contemplate how they can actively enhance the areas they represent and, above all, consider local residents as stakeholders with a very worthy contribution to make to any regenerative effort.
Destination Lincolnshire’s “Discover Lincolnshire” scheme is a great example of how a destination can directly engage with locals as stakeholders, all while moving along a regenerative path. Designed to directly appeal to residents, it invites locals to explore the hidden gems within the county, with their contributions making a direct and tangible economic impact within Lincolnshire.
Tourism is this amazing web, nothing acts in isolation... bring stakeholders on a journey where they can actually understand that this is a trend that our destination needs to be on.”
– CHARLOTTE GOY
Chief Executive
Destination Lincolnshire
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As the world rushes to embrace the concept of regenerative tourism, there’s a lot of confusion as to what it really is.”
Head of EMEA Marketing Simpleview – TRACY RYAN
Visit Flanders’s “Travel to Tomorrow” is an example of an initiative built with resident stakeholders in mind. According to this organisation, “The positive power of tourism can transform visitors and the places they visit, including the people and local communities that “make” and inhabit those places.”
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Manchester and Lincolnshire are examples of two destinations that have implemented regenerative tourism in two very different ways.
Lincolnshire’s Cycle Lincolnshire programme is aimed at incentivising positive behaviour among locals and visitors alike, with the goal of making a positive impact on the area’s environment.
Whereas Manchester has a team whose sole purpose is to highlight all that the city offers to incoming visitors. This not only ensures a more even spread of visitors across the city, but enables all regions of Manchester to tap into the economic benefits of tourism.
Start small, stay agile
Top tip no 4 - when implementing tactics, start small. This will enable you to measure the impact of your chosen tactics and tweak your strategy, as needed.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed about where to begin your regenerative journey, there’s some good news.
Most importantly, this tactic can help you, as a DMO, be agile and ready to adjust your strategy, as and when needed.
Starting small — i.e., testing out strategies in small markets or among small cohorts of visitors — can make a big impact.
While it’s tempting to jump in and roll-out initiatives on a grand scale, starting smaller enables you to observe how your initiatives are received by stakeholders.
“Regenerative tourism focuses on the things in life that really matter.”
— CBI
“Starting small gives you more agility to react to the bigger picture.”
Chief Executive
Destination Lincolnshire
– CHARLOTTE GOY
Grab a seat — make yourself heard
Top tip no 5 - Be willing to listen, collaborate and connect with multiple parties — especially those previously unknown to you
Finally, while measuring the success of any initiative is key, don’t get caught up in unnecessary benchmarking or, worse still, attempt to compete with other destinations.
When it comes to regenerative tourism, every DMO’s experience is different, but — in the end — the collective goal is the same: to make a positive, permanent impact on a place.
For a more in depth take on this topic, watch our webinar
About Us
Built for the industry, by the industry
A natural extension of sustainable tourism, regenerative tourism is something that demands the participation of stakeholders throughout the wider industry.
It’s a new territory, but Simpleview is here to help you explore and develop the skills and tools that you need to implement regenerative tourism in your destination.
Unencumbered by rules or frameworks — is it time to strike out on a regenerative journey of your very own?
TALK TO US ABOUT HELPING YOU ON YOUR REGENERATIVE TOURISM JOURNEY