Destination Regeneration

Where the Place and People Come First

Become a TTC Accredited Regenerative Place

‘Co-Creating Destinations of the Future’

A 12-month hands-on learning journey weaving theory and applied practice for tourism destinations to reimagine tourism, build concrete capacities, design transformational experiences, and inspire and involve local stakeholders in co-designing a regenerative development plan for their place and community.

Welcome to Willamette Valley - Early adopters in 2021

We have a chance to help travel fulfill its regenerative, interpersonal, and transformative potential like never before. The moment we are collectively in is uniquely suited for destinations to advance tourism as a force for good.

The world demands innovative solutions to legacy problems associated with our sector such as overtourism and its inherent negative environmental impacts.

Destination stewards must bravely and rapidly adapt to a changing world.

We're offering a solution to guide forward-looking destinations on a path to regenerative development that is holistically designed to improve host, traveler, community, and environmental well-being and help them flourish.

As celebrated on Yahoo, MSN, NPR and others, Whidbey and Camano Islands Tourism is the second of two early adopters undergoing strategic planning in partnership with the Transformational Travel Council (TTC) in a bold step to adapt to a forever-changed travel industry, and to lay the groundwork for a future-fit destination.

“Regenerative tourism aims to restore the harm that our system has already done to the natural world, and by using nature’s principles, to create the conditions of life to flourish. It views wholes and not parts, and is a very different way of looking at the world.”

— Anna Pollock

Become our Next Early Adopter

CONNECT WITH US

Photo from Quiet Parks International

A Mindful Approach

A regenerative future

People in places worldwide are adapting to new norms and needs. Many are embracing sustainability or deepening their commitments to protecting their natural and cultural heritage. Some are entirely reimagining their approach to tourism and how they measure success.
Transformation and regeneration are the catalysts for this evolution. This evolution is inclusive and involves balancing the needs of nature, communities, and the economy and using tourism to encourage the healthy functioning of ecosystems and people’s role within them.

The Intent

- To empower destination stakeholders to transform their visitor economies and improve long-term resident, traveler, and environmental well-being
- To promote the transition to a transformation economy within a region through the development and implementation of impactful principles and practices
- To support participating Early Adopter destinations worldwide in becoming recognized as global pioneers and leaders in the next generation of travel and tourism

“Destinations cannot ignore the future importance of regenerative tourism and transformative travel.”

— Tracey Poggio, Chairman, The Association of National Tourist Offices (ANTOR), July 23rd, 2021

The Program Outputs

Participating places can expect to benefit from their active and on-going integration of the ‘Regenerative Development Principles for Places,’ a community designed living stewardship plan, and a license to use the TTC’s transformative travel curriculum and community to scale up transformational travel offerings among suppliers and host communities.

1
Unification

Community is unified through a transformative process that cultivates shared values, inspires empowered participation, and the inner and outer capacities necessary to co-create and evolve as a regenerative place.

2
Regenerative Action Plan

The development of a destination manifesto and living ‘Regenerative Plan’ that guides the on-going transformation and the implementation of the program principles and practices in an inclusive, collaborative process.

3
Equip the Community

They’ll lead the shift by cooperatively building local capacity through dynamic training, facilitated discussions, and a train the trainer model to scale up transformational travel offerings among practitioners and host communities.

4
Lead the Transformation Economy

Tourism practitioners are trained to guide transformations that deepen connection, expands meaning, and creates positive change for visitor, visited, and place.

5
Marketing + Promotion

Catalyze the program into a marketing narrative for transformative branding and messaging that calls to this emerging, mindful, impact-driven traveler.

The Transformative Process & Participants

We work with destination leaders and stakeholders in cooperatively realizing a regenerative future for their destinations. Through a multi-stage, iterative process we inspire change by shifting mindsets and integrating transformative and regenerative design principles into your strategic approach, planning, and product development.

Our transformative learning process includes a series of interviews, inquiries, online gatherings, in-person workshops, and ongoing contemplative practices that are held over the course of 9-12 months, we facilitate the discussion, trigger deep reflection, and use the power of collective intelligence to help destination stakeholders make sense of what makes their destination truly unique and develop the inner skills and capacities to inspire change and build resilience and foster thrivability for all stakeholders.

“The ‘deliverable’ of regenerative development and design is building the capacity and capability of that community to co-evolve.”

— Bill Reed of Regenesis Group

Destination Leaders
Including the DMO, tourism board, and community-level leaders actively supporting their tourism sectors through the provision of accessible solutions to some challenges and relevant issues we are all confronting.

Hosts & Practitioners
Including tour operators, lodges, retreats, guides, and experience providers working on the local level to consciously design and create the conditions for transformation of the visitors and the visited.

Stepwise Approach

Program Duration: 9-12 months

HOw to move forward with purpose

1. An expression of interest or invitation from the TTC to become the next Early Adopter of the Destination Regeneration Program.
2. Completion of an informational interview with TTC leadership to discuss the way forward for your destination and review the program in detail and how to involve stakeholders
3. Pre-discovery work, assessment, and intention-setting
4. Delivery of two 2.5-day on-site workshops and training, resulting in a Regenerative Guidelines for Action, Destination Manifesto, and Theory of Change
5. Implementation policies, practices, programs; and pre-qualified trainers trained to conduct future transformational visitor experience training

Program Overview

THE REGENERATIVE DIFFERENCE

“I’m excited for Willamette Valley Visitor Association’s involvement in the Transformative Destinations Program. The innovative work we’re doing together with our regional partners to inspire travel that drives community enhancement and economic development has never been more important,” explains Todd Davidson, CEO of Travel Oregon. “One result of this past year is the opportunity to build tourism back better to aid our state’s economic recovery and increase the resiliency of our lands and people. It’s our opportunity to seize or to squander and WVVA’s embrace of the TTC’s Transformative Destinations Program serves to highlight Oregon’s leadership in defining the future of tourism.”

— Todd Davidson, CEO of Travel Oregon