Tag: #SustainableTourism

ocean blue channel between two islands flows into shallow mangrove area

Climate adaptation is just one benefit of community-based tourism. Let’s learn why. Anyone who has worked in development or conservation knows that securing funding is one of the biggest, most time-consuming challenges. Tourism is one way to generate and channel funds toward local organizations fighting the climate crisis. This is especially true for community-based and regenerative tourism. Destinations with assets that attract tourists, such as rich cultural heritage and biologically diverse natural resources, are often on the front lines, requiring financing to adapt to climatic threats, from rising sea levels to increased droughts and flooding.

What is Climate Adaptation?

Climate adaptation means adjusting to the current and future consequences of climate change. Consequences include sea-level rise, reduced food security, and increased storm surges. Adaptation focuses on climate justice. This means ensuring those most negatively affected by climate change have the resources necessary to adjust. Global mitigation efforts are also necessary to cut emissions and keep warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius. But local adaptation measures are crucial to ensuring the most vulnerable populations are safe and secure. Now let’s learn how community-based tourism can support climate adaptation. 

What is Community-Based Tourism?

According to Planterra, community-based tourism is rooted in social and environmental justice. Where enterprises are locally owned, income stays in the community, and profits are invested in local development and environmental projects. Tourism can positively impact communities worldwide by creating jobs and training opportunities. Community-based tourism is also one of many essential tools for climate adaptation because it:

  • Channels finance towards local communities and organizations
  • Supports local economies and reduces emissions from imports
  • Drives environmental conservation and ecosystem restoration efforts
small, remote island with lush vegetation and white foam waves crashing on all sides
Although Maldives has contributed little to the climate crisis, the country is on the front lines of its imminent impacts, including rising sea levels, beach erosion, and increased storms.
  1. Channeling International Finance Toward Local Communities… A Benefit Of Community-Based Tourism

orange flower shaped diagram with ‘10 business climate action investments’ in the center
CAP’s Ten Business Climate Action Investments highlight specific nature-based solutions that can help businesses adapt to climate change.

Much of the control of finance and decision-making surrounding climate adaptation is held at the national and international levels, often failing to support local actors to be active agents of change. A 2021 review found that only 46% of finance committed from international sources for climate adaptation was intended to give agency to local actors. Solimar is working on USAID’s Climate Adaptation Project (CAP) in the Maldives to scale innovative climate change adaptation solutions and enhance the climate-adaptive capacities of community organizations, local governments, and the private sector. The project, co-financed by USAID, aims to drive sustainable and inclusive growth by engaging local businesses to invest in nature-based solutions to climate change. By investing in climate adaptation, community-based tourism businesses benefit from the triple bottom line: improving revenue, enhancing community resilience, and protecting and restoring nature. 

 

Local women in B.Goidhoo, Maldives collect beach almonds from under the trees after bats have eaten the fruits and spit out the seed. They are sun-dried and cracked open with a customized axe, then sold to Island Zephyr Guesthouse.
  1. Supporting Local Economies and Reducing Emissions from Imports… A Benefit Of Community-Based Tourism

Local economies produce fewer emissions, as their products and services travel shorter distances to arrive to the consumer. Spending money with locally-owned businesses also supports the network of other local suppliers that may need more access to international markets. Island Zephyr Guesthouse in Baa, Goidhoo in the Maldives was constructed with thatch roofs made from coconut leaves and coir rope woven by local women, and its beds were built from breadfruit trees that were cut down to build nearby houses. Bread, flowers, and seasonal produce are also sourced from local growers and producers, creating synergistic experiences for tourists to see where their food is coming from. Tourists can also participate in farm tours and cooking classes. Not only are these products more authentic, but they also have a lower carbon footprint and distribute benefits from tourism throughout local communities.

  1.  Driving Environmental Conservation and Ecosystem Restoration… A Benefit Of Community-Based Tourism

By developing community-based tourism, destinations can conserve and restore the biodiverse ecosystems on which their businesses rely. Marine ecosystems in the Maldives, such as seagrass beds, coral reefs, and mangrove forests, are essential for resilience to climate impacts as well as cultural heritage preservation. If locals, businesses, and visitors alike celebrate these ecosystems, it will raise awareness about their contributions to climate adaptation. The marine biologists of Maldives Underwater Initiative (MUI) at Six Senses Laamu began collecting data on marine life in 2011. Just ten years later, the entire atoll was designated as a Hope Spot by Mission Blue.

Visitors can experience these unique environments through various tours and experiences and participate firsthand in MUI’s research activities and community outreach. Six Senses also allocates a portion of its revenues to local conservation and community development projects. So, just by visiting the resort, guests directly fund these projects, which are crucial for climate adaptation.

ocean blue channel between two islands flows into shallow mangrove area
The mangroves, seagrass, and coral reefs of Hithadhoo, an island in Laamu Atoll’s Hope Spot, provide crucial cultural and ecosystem services.

How to Support Community-Based Tourism Businesses

The best way to support community-based tourism is by choosing locally-owned, regenerative businesses when deciding where to stay on vacation. One way to find them is by searching for sustainable tourism certifications or within membership networks with criteria for hotels, holding them accountable for environmental, social, financial, and operational standards. Some of these include:

By supporting community-based tourism, we can directly support organizations working on the ground for local climate adaptation. Channeling funds into local economies puts critical finances in the hands of organizations that can have the most significant direct impact on conservation, restoration, and other nature-based solutions to climate change.

Are you interested in learning more about how community-based tourism is an essential tool for climate adaptation? Are you a tourism business that wants to take a more active role in climate adaptation in your region? Visit Solimar’s Institute for Sustainable Destinations website today and enroll in one of our courses.

Green Investments in Tourism: Unlocking Opportunities and Experiences for Sustainable Growth (World Tourism Day 2023)

green and eco-friendly hotel
Green investments in the tourism industry are crucial as we move farther away from the pandemic, as many consumer preferences have shifted to become more eco-friendly.

Environmentally friendly investments have been a hot topic of discussion in recent years, and now they get to live in the limelight thanks to World Tourism Day 2023. This day, on the 27th of September each year, has been created by the UN to highlight the increasing importance tourism brings to economic development worldwide. Many corporations and entities across all industries, from oil to travel, are now forced to consider other sustainable alternatives. These alternatives look different for each company and industry. In the travel industry, green investments look to accomplish six objectives from the hotel’s perspective, according to the UNWTO:

  1. Boost profit margins through utility savings. In some cases, utilities can cost upwards of 20% of a hotel’s operating cost.
  2. Increase revenue by satisfying consumer preferences and reducing reputational risk. Hotels should focus on hiring exceptional staff that leave a lasting impression on the guest.
  3. Future-proof investment strategies. Will investments made today still be considered acceptable in future revaluations?
  4. Safeguard against regulatory risk and benefit from incentives.
  5. Increase value and validation through certification. Companies should be flocking to popular sites used by tourists, like Trip Advisor and Expedia, so customers can leave their positive reviews, which will be done with the right level of service.
  6. Ensure a long-term energy supply. Hotels need to ensure that the flow of customers seen now is sustainable in various economic, environmental, and social conditions.
wasteful, unresourceful resort
All-inclusive resorts are the go-to for many tourists around the world, but hotels attract business by providing an abundance of food and material objects, not sustainable experiences. Learn how Solimar International is tackling this in our current project, Visit Tunisia                                                       

For people working in influential roles within the tourism industry, there is no better time than now to start adopting sustainable investments and initiatives. As we have transitioned into a post-pandemic world, travelers have been exploring more sustainable vacation options than they had before the pandemic. A 2022 Booking.com survey claimed 61% of respondents revealed that they wanted to reconsider how they traveled and were trying to be more conscious of their environmental impact due to travel. This is a massive potential market for emerging destinations around and over-visited cities alike. Tourists want to feel more connected to the places they visit and immerse themselves in local and sustainable experiences like they have never seen before. 

A prime example of work being done in already popular tourist destinations is in the Caribbean. According to the UN, a clean and effective transition to a more sustainable future would increase jobs by 10.5% by 2030. A crucial part of creating and improving more sustainable experiences is ensuring local community members are involved in the decision-making process and providing insight. This is another main topic of World Tourism Day this year. When entities, be they from the public or private sector, choose to invest in local communities, it becomes a virtuous cycle between the locals and the visitors. One of Solimar International’s projects in the Caribbean did just that. The climate-smart islands project ran from November 2017 to December 2018 and focused on islands of three Caribbean nations: Trinidad & Tobago, the Bahamas, and Belize. One of the main activities was to involve locals and their knowledge about how climate mitigation and adaptation efforts could be achieved in practice.

Bay in Tobago
A bay on the island of Tobago, a perfect opportunity to invest in sustainable tourism by promoting homestays and hostels in place of large resorts

World Tourism Day 2023

World Tourism Day 2023 presented by the UNWTO (United Nations World Tourism Organization) is highlighting green investments in tourism this year. They have decided to center this day in accordance with the UN’s sustainable development goals (SDG’s) with an emphasis on female leadership and entrepreneurship. They are also focusing on a variety of issues, including “how to promote ease of doing business, how to better develop investment policies and how to embrace new innovative financial mechanisms and solutions to address emerging and complex challenges,” and “how to close the financing gender gap and accelerate access to capital in both domestic and international markets for women entrepreneurs.” Promoting and uplifting female voices in the tourism industry is crucial. According to the UNWTO, women constitute 54% of workers and employees compared to just 39% in the global workforce. When we take action and strongly consider women’s voices and input, everyone benefits. The world has seen tremendous economic development and poverty reduction under female entrepreneurship, demonstrating why global leadership needs to continue uplifting them.

sustainable global development and investment
The UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), designed to be achieved by 2030, cover many direct and adjacent aspects of economic well-being in relation to sustainability, from reduced institutional inefficiencies to care for life all around the planet.

World Tourism Day exists for many reasons, a couple of which, according to National Today, are to ensure that travel is accessible to everyone, especially those with disabilities and people from low-income backgrounds. Promoting world travel is incredibly important for many reasons, mainly because it provides many opportunities for sustainable economic development if done correctly. Hotels are currently responsible for 1% of global emissions (and rising) and are prominent energy and water consumers. 

The Role of Community-Based Tourism

Community-based tourism is one of the best ways to go about green investments in the industry–perhaps the best. This model of tourism allows visitors to truly immerse themselves in new cultures. Knowledgeable community members serving as guides are key in this process. Kyrgyzstan has one of the world’s most robust and developed community-based tourism schemes. Many of the excursions are designed to show nomadic Kyrgyz life all over the country.

green homestay in Kyrgyzstan
A jailoo on lake Son-Kul, where nomadic Kyrgyz people take their livestock in the summer to escape the heat of the valleys. Read more about tourism in Kyrgyzstan

Much of the cost of these excursions goes directly into the pockets of the guides and community, promising the customer that their money is being put to good use. With significant and continued investments from the public and private sectors, community-based tourism will have tremendous effects. 

Overall, the path to investing green in tourism may seem straightforward, but it is easier said than done. In reality, everyone needs to be hands-on and involved constantly because that is the nature of these investments. They will require much more work than simply putting money into a lavish beach resort, but the return on green investments will create a lasting legacy for the people, the planet, and the visitors to a destination. World Tourism Day serves to raise awareness of the importance of tourism around the globe. It is a reminder that while it is easier said than done to put sustainability over short or medium-run profits, green investments, if done well, will prevail. 

Interested in learning more about Solimar’s green initiatives? Read more about us here!

Social media changed the tourism industry with sustainable tourism in Timor-Leste

How has Social Media Changed the Tourism Industry?

The tourism industry looked very different merely 10 years ago. At that time, widespread internet usage had already wildly changed the landscape of the industry, increasing customer autonomy from the days of travel agency appointments and packages. But the explosion of social media platforms between 2006 and 2010 connected individuals around the world like never before, paving the way for another industry upheaval under social media marketing. Read on to learn the history of how social media changed the tourism industry.

The tourism industry before social media

Let’s rewind to 2004. TV, print, and radio advertisements prevailed as travelers and companies were still adapting to the nascent digital world. Airlines didn’t begin selling tickets online until 1994, and hotels followed a year later. Kayak–self-proclaimed pioneers of metasearch for travel–hit the stage in 2004, making it easier than ever for regular people to compare the growing number of internet sources on travel experiences and prices. These revolutionary tools meant that the industry would be forever changed for both tourists and destinations.

The Travel Cycle

A typical “travel cycle” had always looked something like this:

Internet and social media changed the tourism industry
The rise of the internet revolutionized trip planning. Photo by Z on Unsplash.
  1. Potential tourists become aware of a destination.
  2. They decide to go on the trip, making their payments to tourism businesses to book flights, hotels, and activities.
  3. They go on the trip and experience all the things they have heard about.
  4. They form their own opinions on the destination and share them with close friends and family (i.e. other potential tourists), causing the cycle to repeat.

As more people gained access to computers and populated the web with tourism content, a new step emerged: between hearing about a place and deciding to go there, people started doing their own online research. It thus became necessary for tourism businesses and destinations to develop a web presence to ensure they were findable and bookable.

The rise of the internet also led to a change in the tourism feedback loop. Previously, hotels and airlines solicited reviews through phone interviews and comment cards, which had low response rates. TripAdvisor revolutionized the industry in 2001 by making a public online platform for customer reviews. This feature impacted how travelers shared their trip and, subsequently, how they influenced other customers. Having customer relations on display made it even more important for tourism industry businesses to engage positively with customers.

Tourism marketing in the age of social media

Facebook was born in 2004 and had 50 million users by October 2006. By 2010, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube were also popular, and the rise of smartphones encouraged people to share their lives in real time. Marketers quickly realized the value of these massive audiences, which have grown to billions today.

Given the social purpose of these platforms, most users share the highlights of their lives–and traveling is a major highlight. Today, travel is the most engaging industry on Instagram, and 43% of millennials say they won’t even go on a trip if they can’t post about it.

User-Generated Content (UGC)

UGC is the content that regular people (not businesses) post about a business or destination. This type of content has been revolutionary for travel marketers. In the past, destinations had to set aside a large portion of their budget to push out different types of media, hoping it would reach an eager traveler. Even when internet sources became widely available, people had to intentionally search for tourism content. That’s where social media changed the tourism industry. Now, customers organically share their best vacation photos, putting destinations, hotels, and restaurants on their Friends’ and Followers’ radars. Developments like location tags have expanded the utility of social platforms from travel inspiration to travel planning resources. Today, 85% of millennials use social media to plan their trips.

Free Marketing Channels

Destinations and businesses don’t have to wait for users to post about them–they can (should) also create their own account. This free in-house marketing allows destinations to create a unique brand persona by publicly engaging with previous and potential customers. By posting authentic content, a destination can make their brand visible to billions of people around the world–a wider reach than any other type of media advertisement. These metrics make social media bios a great place to cross-market and insert links to drive traffic to the destination’s booking website or other social platforms.

Another perk is the free analytics the platforms provide. With these, a destination’s social media manager can analyze which posts did well, with what audiences, and at what time in order to learn more about how to engage their target demographic.

social media changed the tourism industry with free marketing analytics
Social media changed the tourism industry with free marketing analytics. Photo by Lukas Blazek on Unsplash.

Advertisements 

Destinations can also pay for social media advertisements. Facebook first introduced paid advertisements in 2006. Nearly every social media platform thereafter has followed suit, designing advertisements to look as close to a normal post as possible. These advertisements encourage user interest and engagement, as they portray more authenticity than the big pop-up ads that break up content on other web-resources like blogs and search engines.

Most importantly, paid advertisements can get content in front of specific target audiences. Social platforms have access to some of the most telling details about users’ interests, buying habits, community, and demographics, and can use this information to increase traffic to a business page.

Influencer Marketing

A more recent way social media changed the tourism industry is with influencer marketing. Destinations or businesses pay “influencers,” people with a large social media following, to post content about their place, product, or service. The influencer’s audience already trusts them, so hiring influencers whose content aligns with the destination’s brand values makes the brand all the more likely to gain traction with that audience. On platforms like TikTok, relatively small influencers with around ten thousand followers see higher engagement and can help smaller marketing campaigns get started and reach niche audiences.

Dangers of misusing social media marketing

Social media changed the tourism industry, leading to overtourism in Positano
Crowded streets in Positano. Photo by Georgi Kalaydzhiev on Unsplash.

As a visually-based tool, social media changed the tourism industry, but did so in some negative ways too. It can be difficult for brands to compete in this space, so they may be tempted to edit out distractions and enhance photos to make them more clickable. Market emphasis on getting the “perfect shot” lessens brand authenticity, leading to disappointed travelers, negative reviews, a poor reputation, and, ultimately, a decrease in visitation.

On the flip side, viral trends and fad destinations can lead to over-tourism. When the number of visitors exceeds the capacity of a destination, tourism is no longer beneficial to local communities. For instance, while there are countless Italian beach towns, Positano went viral as the Italian beach town. Subsequently, Positano saw an influx of visitors who posted the place on their socials, further increasing the town’s online presence and visitation. This cycle has led Positano to be crowded with tourists whose focus is on getting a great picture, rather than on participating in local economic or cultural activities. These unsustainable results make it necessary for destinations to create parameters for successful marketing that go beyond sheer numbers.

Using social media for sustainable destination marketing

Sustainable tourism prioritizes the authenticity and longevity of economies, cultures, and environments in touristic destinations. Destinations can promote sustainable tourism with social media by prioritizing authentic over viral content. Responsible branding involves thoughtful storytelling such that local customs and cultures are part of the tourist drive. Strategic planners can also limit overtourism by choosing the right social platforms and influencers to target specific age groups and types of travelers. The consultants at Solimar International are experienced in navigating the complexities of social media for sustainable destination marketing all around the world.

Digital marketing on Atauro Island 

In 2018, Solimar began working under the USAID “Tourism for All” project to develop sustainable tourism in the island nation of Timor-Leste. Solimar worked closely with communities on Ataúro Island–the island with the most biodiverse waters in the world–to develop a Destination Management Organization called ATKOMA.

To promote the new Ataúro Island DMO website they created in October 2020, Solimar launched the “Adventures in Ataúro” social media contest, offering the winner a free trip to the island. The campaign reached more than 7,000 people across all of ATKOMA’s social platforms and directly resulted in more than 200 clicks on the new website. ATKOMA’s Facebook page also saw an increase of 75 followers, an exciting figure for a destination that previously had next to no online presence.

Solimar continues to support the marketing of Ataúro Island through the ATKOMA Facebook and Instagram pages. Between July 2022 and January 2022, increased and consistent posting in both English and the local language of Tetum led to a 96.29% increase in website users and a 75.2% increase in Facebook reach.

Social media changed the tourism industry with sustainable tourism in Timor-Leste
Digital marketing campaigns put Ataúro Island on the map. Photo by Tanushree Rao on Unsplash.

Influencer marketing for domestic tourism in Tunisia

Solimar has been supporting USAID’s Visit Tunisia project since 2021 by creating and implementing a national strategy to diversify Tunisia’s tourism sector. Throughout the summer of 2022, the project used influencer marketing to promote the National Tourism Office’s domestic tourism campaign, #Weekend_Tunisia.

Between April and June 2022, the campaign reached more than 2 million people on social media, leading the Instagram page to see a staggering 300% increase in followers. By July, the campaign had over 6 million views on social media, with featured businesses reporting an increase in bookings. At the end of the season, USAID posted two videos with Tunisian influencers that got more than 12 million views from the target audience in Tunisia.

So, yes, Social Media has changed the Tourism Industry. What does that mean?

Social media is a powerful tool for destinations to use. It must be used carefully to get the right amount and type of tourists to the right decisions. Through working as a sustainable tourism consultancy since 2001, Solimar International has seen how social media changed the tourism industry, and has a successful track record of strategically planning tourism for destinations in an ever-changing digital world. 

Interested in how we can help you with social media marketing? Contact us to learn more!

greenwashing tourism industry

Travel greenwashing and the challenges of an environmentally conscious tourist: who to trust, how to spot authenticity, and more.

From backpackers to luxury travelers, ​​the climate crisis affects us all. As travelers become increasingly aware of the issues impacting the Earth, they seek to reward and fiscally support businesses in the tourism industry with environmentally friendly practices. A subsection of the tourism industry known as “eco-tourism” has emerged in response to the demand for eco-friendly options. Some tourists are consciously opting to use their vacation time to do things like take a domestic road trip along the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail instead of flying thousands of miles to an all-inclusive resort.

There is also no shortage of travel businesses touting their sustainability practices. But when businesses decide to skip a step, reaping the rewards of sustainable efforts without actually implementing sustainable alternatives, it can leave travelers struggling to navigate between who is actually sustainable and who is simply doing travel greenwashing

travel sustainably by hiking beautiful mountain vistas
Traveler taking in the view from Ciucas, Romania (David Marcu, Unsplash)

Back to Basics

What is Greenwashing? 

In general terms, greenwashing is a marketing style that falsely advertises a service or product in an environmentally friendly light. Given how pervasive greenwashing is within the tourism industry, it can be particularly tricky for a traveler to identify. For example, when a hotel claims to use sustainable practices in order to cater to a more ecologically conscious market, they would be greenwashing if they are unfaithful to those claims. 

How to Spot Travel Greenwashing

Keep an eye out for lone buzz words like “eco”, “environmentally-friendly”, and “sustainable” in descriptions. If there is no information or detailed examples to back it up, it is likely false. A business committed to sustainability will not shy away from getting into specifics. 

In case the irony didn’t give it away already, these plastic cups labeled “Eco” that were found at a beach cleanup on Long Island, New York are a great example of greenwashing (Brian Yurasits, Unsplash)

When in doubt, ask! 

Any eco-entrepreneur worth their buck will gladly engage in conversation with a potential customer on their sustainable practices. When planning your trip, it is always a good idea to contact a business and ask for more details. Don’t let language barriers deter you either! Google Translate can be a great communication tool when using simple sentences, especially if email or instant messaging is an option.  

Are they legit? 

A genuinely sustainable business will typically present evidence alongside their environmentalist claims. If you want an example of what to look for, then look no further than the numerous guest houses in the Dahar region of Tunisia. Many businesses like Ouled El Khil (pictured below), boast farm-fresh dishes produced via sustainable agricultural methods like permaculture and provide pictures with in-depth descriptions to add legitimacy to their claims. If you are still on the fence after reviewing the evidence, it never hurts to engage the service provider for more information. 

Environmentally friendly permaculture farming at guesthouse Domaine Ouled El Khil in Ghomrassen, Tunisia (Destination Dahar)
Environmentally friendly permaculture farming at guesthouse Domaine Ouled El Khil in Ghomrassen, Tunisia (© FTADD)

Let’s Put Our Knowledge of Travel Greenwashing to the Test

The whole point of marketing is to influence an audience into feeling a certain way, and greenwashing is no different. When done well, greenwashing can be deceiving, so let’s go for a test drive: 

After a quick web search, you find a hotel for your next vacation. It looks nice enough and claims to be “eco-friendly”. The question of the hour: is it really — or is this greenwashing? 

Some key questions to ask: 

  • How does the hotel support local residents and the surrounding community?
  • How does the hotel prevent harming the natural habitat around them? 
  • What is the hotel’s waste management policy? 
  • Do they recycle and avoid single use plastics? 
  • How do they work to conserve water?
  • How do they prevent pollution?

Questions that probe further into the company’s future are also a great way to get to know the ethos of the establishment you are considering to support. For example, ask about their plan to reduce their carbon footprint. The more you can target your questions, the more direct and useful the responses will be. Most business owners who prioritize sustainable practices will happily discuss their efforts with a potential guest. In fact, they likely appreciate and share your passion for solving the complex problems our planet faces.

On the off chance they do not engage, it is likely they do not have the evidence to support their claims. At this point, you may be better off taking your business somewhere that you deem truly worthy of your patronship, but at the very least you have given them something to consider by reaching out. 

Litter on a beach near a resort in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. (Dustin Woodhouse, Unsplash)
Litter on a beach near a resort in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. (Dustin Woodhouse, Unsplash)

Preventing Travel Greenwashing in the First Place

The World Federation of Advertisers recently updated its code on greenwashing. Their new guidance emphasizes that any environmentalist claims in a service or product description must be clear, readily backed up, and precise. Misleading by omission is also ill-advised. However, despite these strides in anti-greenwashing policy, there is no global enforcement of such initiatives. It is up to individual nations to legislate anti-greenwashing regulations. Therefore, when looking to travel abroad, it can be helpful to check the greenwashing laws of the country you are visiting. If a nation enforces anti-greenwashing advertising regulations, then claims made in descriptions may be more readily trusted. 

Better yet, if you don’t feel like spending hours trying to understand anti-greenwashing legislation, there are organizations that weed out the greenwashing for you. Groups like Solimar International can help you find businesses that align with your ethical and sustainable values. Check out Solimar’s recommendations for your next eco-friendly adventure! 

Regenerative travel allows you to ethically view some of these stunning sites

Why Regenerative Tourism is the Industry’s Future

When not managed or appropriately planned, tourism can be a very extractive process that comes at the expense of local people and their homes. Often, multinational tourism companies capitalize on popular destinations to the detriment of residents. These destinations are “mined” for labor, culture, land use, and natural features. Extractive tourism, a term coined by academic Vijay Kolinjivadi, contributes to climate change and environmental degradation and commodifies indigenous traditions. Local residents are often priced out of their homes due to the gentrification caused by tourist demand to be catered to.

Sustainable tourism is the first step toward counterbalancing the destruction caused by traditional tourism. The goal here is to make tourism a neutral force in destinations, causing no net harm–but also no net benefit. Regenerative tourism takes a step beyond sustainability; it encompasses the notion that tourism should leave a place better than before, taking a holistic approach to improving the well-being of destinations. Often, regenerative tourism operations offer visitors concrete ways of participating in conservation activities to increase their appreciation of the destination.

What Does Regenerative Tourism Do for the Planet?

Regenerative tourism operations require tourism professionals to brainstorm creative ways to minimize environmental impacts. Nature-based solutions integrate natural processes into the built environment to increase resilience, and are great methods for creating a regenerative tourism framework. These solutions can be big or small, ranging from building submerged structures for coastal wave-breaking and substrate for coral colonization to making plates out of locally-grown bamboo instead of plastic or paper. Nature-based solutions, implemented within a regenerative tourism plan, can help make tourism a force for good in the world. If every tour in a destination contributed to restoring the landscape, the positive change tourists could bring would be enormous!

Regenerative tourism does not only apply to previously damaged ecosystems, however. When starting a new tourism operation, it is essential to consider its possible effects on the environment. Implementing a regenerative plan before damage can even begin helps to ensure that tourism professionals do not create future problems for themselves. Keeping rivers clear, forests green, and beaches clean guarantees that tourists can continue to enjoy a destination for years to come. An unhealthy ecosystem can cause severe damage to a tourism operation’s bottom line; healing the environment as the market grows ensures business can stay booming. After all, you can’t offer snorkel tours if there are no fish to see. Regenerative tourism provides the promise of stability in both the natural and business worlds.

Sundarbans Forest in Bangladesh
Preserving natural beauty, like in the Sundarbans Forest of India and Bangladesh, is a significant part of any regenerative vacation

What Does Regenerative Tourism Do for People?

Regenerative tourism is not only focused on the restoration of the natural environment. On the contrary, it is deeply concerned with the experiences of people. First and foremost are the residents of a travel destination. Regenerative operations are either run by or look to partner with local communities. This ensures that tourism dollars flow into the destination, not the pocketbooks of outside investors.

Close relationships with local and indigenous peoples also allow for the concrete preservation of cultural heritage. Native residents can choose how to present their traditions to visitors rather than having foreign companies commodify their way of life. It can even increase local support for tourism!

Many popular destinations have become the victims of “overtourism,” or the congestion of a location by tourists, which locals perceive to have a detrimental effect on their own quality of life. The indigenous of Hawai’i, in particular, have been righteously hostile to tourists for several years, with some factions pushing for a complete halt of visitor traffic. However, a recent study in the Journal of Travel Research suggests that regenerative tourism models make tourism much more palatable for Hawai’i residents, with 96.3% of 463 respondents looking favorably to tourists who would participate in conservation activities.

regenerative tourism helps with impacts of crowds
Crowds of irresponsible tourists can reduce local support for tourism

Why Should Travelers Look for These Tourism Opportunities Moving Forward?

Booking a trip from an organization that uses regenerative tourism strategies can contribute to peace of mind, as visitors know that they aren’t promoting the destruction of the ecosystems they want to experience. These tours may not be the most well-known, but that doesn’t mean they offer a lower-quality experience. Many of them are hidden gems that give travelers unique opportunities for interaction that other tours could never provide, with smaller group sizes making for a more personalized adventure.

Local guides are a great way to support a local economy
Utilizing local guides makes for a smaller and more tailored experience for tourists.

Experiential tourism is the name of the game these days, with travelers wanting to pursue immersion over superficial encounters. Regenerative tourism operations allow visitors to get their hands dirty with activities such as planting native trees, clearing invasive plant species, and removing fishing gear and other plastics from water bodies. Local guides offer in-depth glimpses of the reality of life in these locations. These enterprises seek to create a culture of reciprocity with residents, allowing both sides of the tourism equation to learn from each other. Tourists who participate in these kinds of regenerative pursuits have reported feelings of deep satisfaction and connection with nature and are likely to continue these behaviors upon returning to their homes.

picking up trash is a meaningful way to contribute to a place
Participating in conservation activities, like beach clean-ups, makes visitors feel more connected to a destination.

On a more practical note, a 2021 study by Booking.com found that 68% of tourists want to ensure that their money goes to an operation that supports local people and is distributed equitably. On a regenerative trip, visitors can be sure that their money supports the people who live and work at these destinations. Residents are the people who have the power to keep the world’s favorite travel destinations clean, biodiverse, and economically stable while offering an honest look into their cultures.  Recreational travel through regenerative tourism helps to support a bright future for the tourism industry on all sides.

To learn more about regenerative tourism and why it is the future of our industry, check out our Director of Conservation & Community Development Chloe King’s white paper about regenerative tourism here. You can also see Solimar’s regenerative tourism projects on our website.

Blog by Annie Combs and Deanna Elliott

“We rely confidently on Solimar's deep technical experience and professionalism as tourism consultants. You always are exceeding our expectations.”
Leila Calnan, Senior Manager, Tourism Services Cardno Emerging Markets

Contact us

  • Address

    641 S Street NW, Third Floor
    Washington, DC 20001
  • Phone

    (202) 518-6192