Sustainable Vs Regenerative Tourism: What’s the difference and potential benefit?
This article outlines the definition of sustainable tourism and regenerative tourism, detailing the origins of both movements. It also asks how these goals and criteria can be implemented, revealing how both terms can tend to grey areas and vague strategies of implementation that could be seen as similar to ‘greenwashing’. It moves on to give examples of sustainable tourism vs regenerative tourism, adopting a broad difference in terms of passive vs active involvement. Lastly, it outlines the measures and commitments InRetreat takes to support and adhere to sustainable and regenerative tourism.
On retreat in Kenya in 2023
Article chapters:
What is sustainable tourism?
What is regenerative tourism?
How is sustainable and regenerative tourism actually implemented?
Examples of sustainable and regenerative tourism
What are InRetreat’s commitments to sustainable and regenerative tourism?
What is sustainable tourism?
Sustainable tourism has origins in the global environmental movement of the 1960s and 1970s. At this time, people concerned about the environment noticed the negative impact of unregulated mass tourism, which experienced a sharp rise with the introduction of more affordable and plentiful international air flights. It became apparent that unregulated and unmanaged mass tourism pollutes nature, destroys local habitats and harms the local communities.
Today, there are three main pillars of sustainable tourism commonly recognized: Environment (protecting nature and reducing water); Culture (respecting local heritage); Economy (making sure local communities can benefit financially from tourism in their area).
Tourism that is concerned with community and the environment
The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) defines sustainable tourism as “Tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities.” “Sustainability principles refer to the environmental, economic, and socio-cultural aspects of tourism development, and a suitable balance must be established between these three dimensions to guarantee its long-term sustainability”.
Sustainable tourism encourages travellers to plan their trip with a focus on reducing waste, conserving water, and using less resources. In essence the goal of sustainable tourism is to ensure that the environment is not negatively affected by travel infrastructure and activity. Critics of sustainable tourism define it as an endeavour to maintain the status quo in a given ecosystem, and see it as a passive approach to conserve what is already there.
How can we participate in the ecosystem and leave it replenished?
What is regenerative tourism?
Regenerative tourism has its origins in the early 2000s, when leading scholars on tourism and conservation started questioning the established linear model of tourism as a practice of looking, buying/spending and then leaving. Instead, they argued that tourism should act as a complex ecological and economic system. Tourism strategist Anna Pollock coined the term “conscious travel” in 2012, which pushed the industry to consider immersive, nature-aligned tourism. The idea of regenerative tourism, however, gained global traction around 2019 and 2020 in discussion on how to “build back better” after the impacts of the global Covid pandemic.
In essence, regenerative tourism stems from the desire to leave a destination better off than it was found. Instead of minimizing harm (passive), it seeks to bring about net-positive impact by actively restoring nature and supporting local communities (active). Regenerative tourism tends to consider and try to bolster all living systems and ecology of a region, lubricating systems designed to renew themselves and not deplete resources. It also, critically, takes into account indigenous world views and perspectives, which can both align with and conflict with governmental and organisational level initiatives.
“In essence, regenerative tourism stems from the desire to leave a destination better off than it was found. Instead of minimizing harm (passive), it seeks to bring about net-positive impact by actively restoring nature and supporting local communities (active).”
How do you ‘leave no trace’ and enable an ecosystem to regenerate?
Critics of regenerative tourism indicate that it is a new term with little framework and structure of implementation, they also argue that it is more a branding or perspective shift from sustainable tourism, rather than a substantive new way forward for the global tourism industry. Critics argue that sustainable tourism does have forward directed goals and can involve immersive active participation; it need not be a passive approach.
How is sustainable and regenerative tourism actually implemented?
The GSTC argues that many discussions surrounding regenerative tourism are located in a desire for more inspirational terminology rather than substantive change. This has led to a grey area over actual implementation procedures and guidelines when it comes to regenerative tourism.
Sustainable tourism, in contrast, has a legacy of well defined criteria. The GSTC Criteria explicitly encourage both reducing negative impacts and enhancing positive ones through a coherent framework of implementation. These criteria are utilized for education, policy-making for businesses and government entities, measurement and evaluation. It also dictates how sustainability can be a foundation for certification. The GSTC highlights four key pillars in this regard: (1) Sustainable management; (2) Socioeconomic impacts; (3) Cultural impacts; (4) Environmental impacts (including resource consumption, pollution reduction, and biodiversity conservation).
Immersive, slow travel
These GSTC criteria are designed to be adaptable to the varying contexts of different geographic areas, thus recognizing that the cultural, environmental and social needs change over space and time.
In more basic terms, GSTC criteria can be implemented on a policy level for local and national governments and tourism boards, in consultation with environmental organisations. It can be enforced through policy and encouraged through incentives, financial and otherwise. It can also be implemented on a basic everyday level in terms of the operations of a hotel, nature conservancy, or tour operator.
Examples of sustainable and regenerative tourism
A broad example that would help to exemplify the difference between the two perspectives is the following: A sustainable tourism approach would be to book a stay at an eco-hotel or eco-lodge that conserves water, recycles waste and uses locally sourced produce. A regenerative approach would be to stay at the eco-hotel and to participate in a project that benefits biodiversity in the area, or to find an eco-hotel that directly shares profits with the local communities and environmental NPOs. A regenerative approach may also be to book a vacation with the intention to carve out time to volunteer with a local organisation that supports biodiversity or social capacity in the area.
How can you ‘be’ in a place, and not just travel through it?
InRetreat’s commitments to sustainable and regenerative tourism
InRetreat donates 3% of annual profits to a non-profit organisation that engages in reforestation in Africa and Asia, as well as other projects that ensure the relationship between communities and vulnerable rain forest areas is healthy and geared towards longevity. More and more companies are pledging to share 1% of profits with environmental causes, but for several years now, InRetreat has pledged 3%.
InRetreat commits to partnering with lodges and hotels that have regenerative practices at the heart of their operations. Many are also fully certified with eco-tourism boards or organisations. We choose these locations with care. One key indicator is the staff - if they are well paid, happy and on fair work contracts, and from local communities, then this is a good sign.
InRetreat is committed to immersive, slow travel with small groups to low-density and sparsely populated areas. Not only do we think this makes for better travel experiences, but it is also better for the planet. We find the most unique and awe-inspiring locations and we curate a low-impact itinerary that really gets into the heart of what it means to be there, not just travel there.
Lastly, InRetreat goes out of its way to plan itineraries that include positive community and ecosystem engagement and opportunities for guests to participate in local environmental and social projects.
“InRetreat donates 3% of annual profits to a non-profit organisation that engages in reforestation”
Lentorre Lodge in Olkirimatian Conservancy
One lodge we partner with that is an absolute gold standard in this is Lentorre Lodge in Kenya. This safari lodge responsibly leases their land from the Masai indigenous community. In effect, the indigenous Masai community are the ‘landlords’ and they are in a profit-sharing agreement with the lodge, meaning that it is not just conservation fees that go to the local community (a common practice in the safari industry across Africa), but also the profit the lodge makes (entirely uncommon). Further, all the staff come from the Masai community, and the lodge directly supports and manages community infrastructure and development, such as schools, roads and clinics. Of course, the lodge is also directly involved in anti-poaching initiatives and various ongoing environmental research and conservation projects.
Check out our Kenya Retreat ~ partnering with a safari lodge that is the gold standard of regenerative tourism