TTC on Regenerative Tourism in the USA Today

Regenerative Development in Tourism

TTC Head of Destination Stewardship, Jillian Dickens, featured in the USA Today

USA Today travel journalist Valentina Valentini wants to help tourists understand what regenerative travel is, and how it works. She asked three travel professionals (including our destination stewardship lead Jillian!) to explain regenerative travel and tourism and got three different perspectives. This article helps get us closer to a shared understanding of the concepts and lasting power of this new approach to developing and managing tourism.

Here are a few snippets from the story: “Unlike bucket-list traveling, which has become ever-more popular with the rise of social media, it is not something to conquer or to check off a list. Rather, it is an approach to travel that encompasses mindfulness … Regenerative travel aims for a positive impact on the places we visit through preservation of the local communities, cultures, economy and environment. It goes beyond the “do no harm” philosophy of sustainable travel or ecotourism — and far beyond the well-intentioned but sometimes detrimental “voluntourism” that swept the industry in the last couple of decades.”

While this is a simplistic view of regenerative tourism, we do support the quest to inform travelers and meet people where they are at when it comes to introducing new, complex concepts. It is progress. 

In the article, Jillian notes this approach to tourism development and management recognizes and centers upon the interconnectedness of tourism. “Regenerative development for tourism takes a whole systems approach. Because tourism doesn’t sit in a vacuum, it’s interconnected to everything, I think more so than any other industry.”

This article helps get us closer to a shared understanding of the concepts and lasting power of this new approach to developing and managing tourism.  The special edition Sustainability issue is only available in print and can be ordered here.