Regenerative Tourism: Good Practices and a Good Trip

When choosing your next destination, consider including ethics and responsibility in your luggage.

Few concepts are as elastic as that of "travelling". The verb has already been used to undertake great conquests, it has served science and religion, adventurers and explorers, kings and queens, and even common people in search of rest or leisure. Almost everything fits into one trip.

What is being left out of it is its use for futile or predatory tourism: more and more people are interested in living a journey that connects with purpose, genuine experiences and personal evolution.

With the advancement of sustainability ideas applied to travel, what was "ecotourism" (in the 1980s and 1990s) or "sustainable tourism" (until very recently) has become regenerative tourism, expanding the boundaries of good practices for beyond the limits of hotels, parks and cities visited.

Now -- and better late than never -- a good part of this responsibility is no longer just the responsibility of those who receive it, but is shared with the traveler himself.

This tourist, aware of the impact that his choices have wherever he goes (establishments, communities, forests, cities, beaches and mountains) has even gained a name: progressive nomad, or simply Promad. In addition to suggesting practices aligned with the best conduct, the term aims to define the profile of those tourists willing to sign a successful pact between those who promote and those who enjoy regenerative experiences, to the point that these roles become one: the to preserve all types of life on Earth.

Brazilian journalist specializing in tourism Mari Campos has been following changes in the market for 17 years and has seen almost all of its segments, to some extent, gradually assume a more engaged discourse, before the pandemic definitively changed the way we travel. It's difficult to know who drove the regeneration train: whether it was avant-garde luxury hotels and operators, or whether it was the individual conduct of more conscious tourists.

In any case, this relationship may have generated much more than new sustainability standards to be followed by inns around the world. "Regenerative tourism is not a product, but rather the attitude of tourists themselves in their travels and the maintenance of a truly sustainable chain in the short, medium and long term by all players in the tourism industry", defines Mari.

Identify your motivation

Reflect on the true motivations why you mobilize to travel. Resting, playing sports, exploring other worlds, spending quality time with your family, being alone, having the opportunity to meet other people... Thinking about what awakens in you the real desire to undertake a trip is fundamental to starting a sequence of wise and conscious choices.

The journey is the destination

Your next trip is not where you are going, but where this place can take you. By defining your destination based on the experiences you hope to live, fantasies and stereotypes that usually surround famous destinations give way to a more authentic and personal path, wherever you decide to be.

Be discerning

When the time comes to plan your itinerary and choose destinations, accommodations and tours, stick with companies and service providers committed to responsible standards throughout their entire chain of operations. There are several internationally recognized certifications so you can be sure that you are hiring companies and people that generate a positive impact on the environment and local communities. Green Destinations, for example, has chosen annually, for seven years, the 100 destinations in the world with the best initiatives in categories ranging from encouraging local entrepreneurship to the use of renewable energy or sewage treatment. The 2020 list includes options for municipalities, islands and protected areas that are using tourism as a regeneration tool.

Make more conscious journeys

The air transport sector is responsible for a significant part of pollutant emissions in the world and represents 51% of tourist travel. For some years now, airlines around the world have been setting goals to replace kerosene with biofuels and some of them are already flying almost 100% cleanly. Take into account trips that do not require flights and try to think about your itinerary in order to minimize travel. Whenever possible, prefer trains or non-polluting vehicles. There are countless incredible itineraries to explore countries around the world on two wheels. If you have to fly, give preference to shorter routes, operated by "green" companies, or those that make some type of carbon offset.

Location is the channel

Traveling is the best opportunity to stimulate curiosity, let yourself go, open yourself up to new things. And the most authentic and representative discoveries are in local businesses, in the community, in public areas, in restaurants that value typical cuisine and ingredients. In addition to being more enriching, preferring products, people and establishments like this is the best way to stimulate the economy and reciprocate the experience that tourism provides.

Search for references

Research successful initiatives that combine destination, comfort, service, social inclusion, cultural and environmental preservation. An expert on the subject, journalist Mari Campos has good recommendations: "Both the Great Plains Conservation and Porini Campos lodges are excellent examples of regenerative tourism, both from the point of view of conservation and preservation as well as the environmental and cultural, without forgetting taking care of the communities that surround them and other economic and social aspects of the destinations in which they are located. Although with a different modus operandi, the Soneva chain resorts have also been doing excellent regenerative work in the Maldives and Thailand. In Brazil, Anavilhanas Jungle Lodge , Cristalino Lodge and Refúgio Caiman are three excellent demonstrations of hospitality truly working towards regenerative tourism." Other interesting references are the Fogo Island Inn, in Canada, and the Kachi Lodge, in Bolivia.

Better than before

On some trails in New Zealand, there are signs inviting hikers to leave the place better than they found it. This logic can and should be applied to all trips: if you visit a place and bring back memories, experiences and gifts, how about leaving a positive trail there too? Contribute to adding more than taking from communities, places and relationships. It could be picking up unwanted paper from the floor, offering physical help to someone, participating in a constructive way at some point in that community.