Regenerative Tourism: A Leg up on Sustainability 

Sustainable Tourism

The UN Environment Program and the UN World Tourism Organization define sustainable tourism as a way of travel that accounts for current and future impacts – that there should be no further negative impacts on the tourism area. These relate to the economic, social, and environmental effects of tourism on visitor requirements, the tourism industry, the environment, and the host communities.

In a nutshell, sustainable tourism seeks to keep tourism sustainable or maintainable by striking a balance. It aims for equilibrium between the economic benefits and the effects that tourism might have on the environment, the destination, and the people that reside there.

The advent of sustainable tourism marked a trend that made individuals more aware of the sustainability of their travels and to incorporate ethics when choosing a destination. This change in approach resulted in an increased demand for eco-friendly tourism packages and products.

Suddenly, tourists started to seek out “greener” ways to travel. But it still didn’t necessarily mean that the environment and community of tourist destinations would benefit from the economic support. If an area has already become degraded due to the existing tourist activities, sustainable tourism only means maintaining this status quo.

Regeneration 101

When you think of the words “regenerate” and “regenerative,” concepts of renewal and restoration tend to come to mind. And this is just what regenerative tourism encourages – for visitors, rather than just maintaining an area, activity or community, instead actively seeking for ways in which to revitalise the areas and communities impacted by tourism.

It’s not about bringing immense economic growth to an area (since development usually has its own negative impacts). It’s about embracing and nurturing the location, the community, and nature and creating a synergy to improve their interconnectedness. It’s about playing an active role in leaving a place better than when you arrived there.

A recent review of regenerative tourism found that although the concept doesn’t have a universal definition as of yet, the paradigm exists to transform tourism as we know it. The review found that regenerative tourism seeks to create encounters and connections between tourists and communities. And here it is useful to note that communities can be used in the context of both human communities in an area, as well as communities in the sense of the living parts of an ecosystem.

The hope is that these connections will evolve into mutually beneficial relationships. Firstly, the community improves through this type of interaction. And tourists get to leave a destination reflecting on inner transformation and the knowledge that they made a difference.

Overtourism

The travel industry has primarily focused on growth for decades, regardless of the long-term impact on local environments. Since growth means money, it served the tourism industry well to follow this approach.

Some of the signs of overtourism include:

The term first made headlines in 2017, when backlash emerged from local communities against tourists to countries such as Dubrovnik, Barcelona, and Venice. In response to these protests, authorities had to increase tourism fees and limit tourist numbers to attractions (and even had to close islands).

How Travellers Can Focus on Regeneration

Here are a few simple ideas on how to look out for regenerative tourism opportunities with examples provided in the context of our locale, Hoedspruit.

Support Local Businesses

When you contribute to a local economy, you enable the community to exist, thrive, and give back to their community. Instead of supporting a large chain store in a convenient location on your way to your destination, think twice and consider making your purchase from a local establishment. Stop and explore rather than just aiming for quick and easy.

Grab a coffee at the Hoedspruit Café or a truly local and delicious meal at Kassava. Get your groceries at Fat Franks or Le Bamba.

Keep the Environment Clean

We know that litter has grave repercussions on the environment. In areas that require upliftment and regeneration, this pollution can also encourage the spread of disease. So, next time you head out the door while visiting a new area, take a bag with you to pick up litter as you explore.

It might seem menial, but every bit of litter collected contributes to the regeneration of the environment. Any time we go camping or hiking we get everyone, including the children, to each pick up 5 pieces of rubbish. It’s not a lot, it only takes 10 minutes but it makes a difference and hopefully we’re teaching our children about the importance of leaving a place better than how we found it.

Look for Social Projects

Is the country or the destination you’re visiting running any social projects? It’s always a good idea to research such projects in advance to see whether you might be able to help contribute to these causes.

For example, a lodge or hotel might contribute a percentage of your accommodation fee towards helping to send local children to school or to help construct buildings in the local community. Before making a reservation on accommodation booking sites, take a few extra minutes to establish whether your choices on where to stay and what to do might have a wider impact.

Tanda Tula is a phenomenal example of a lodge that truly gives back to its community (shara blurb), as is the Thornybush Collection’s Inzalo Community Project T/A Thornybush Community.

Over the past 17 years, Thornybush Community has implemented food gardens working in collaboration with a local school, been responsible for the funding and mentorship of an all-female local agricultural SMME business and included other initiatives in the areas of Education, Enterprise, Commerce, Conservation and Voluntourism.

Try Lower Impact Tourism

When you’re aiming to travel somewhere, try to find at least some activities that have less of an environmental impact, and genuinely support the local community.

Excellent examples of these might be hiking the Hippo Trail near Swadini, visiting the master weavers and potters that make up the Kulani Collective, visiting the Hoedspruit Reptile Centre who have some fantastic programmes or for something truly special and regenerative, take a 3 night primitive trail with a company like Lowveld Trails or the African Bush Company.

Final Thoughts

Regenerative tourism might still be a novel concept, but it has the potential to instil quality experiences and not just sustainable experiences.

Have you experienced regenerative tourism in South Africa? Please let us know since The Trail Food Company loves causes that give back to the environment and communities.

Take a look at Part 2 of this series, which explores Primitive Trails As a Regenerative Tourism Model.