TOURISM REGENERATIVE VISITATION OF PEOPLE TO ALASKAN COMMUNITIES FUNDS PROJECTS THAT IMPROVE ECOSYSTEMS, ELEVATE LOCAL ECONOMIES, AND PROMOTE MEANINGFUL AND RESPONSIBLE VISITOR EXPERIENCES.
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@ALWAYSINDIGENOUSMEDIA
Regenerative tourism seeks to enhance the places visited rather than just minimize the harm done to them by visitors. Tourists can play an important role in supporting community driven projects that proactively improve ecosystems, elevate local economies, and promote meaningful and responsible visitor experiences. Regenerative tourism is possible when tourism operators are locals who are embedded in the values, priorities, and systems of accountability of a specific place. Tourism can provide career opportunities to culture bearers, provide fair compensation to local artisans, fund language revitalization, and strengthen young people’s sense of pride and value of their culture. It teaches a true and holistic story of Alaska. However, when done poorly, tourism perpetuates romanticized expectations stereotypes of Alaska and its Indigenous peoples. Regenerative tourism generously compensates Native communities and elders who have full agency in determining what and how they share their knowledge.
