Mood of Finland company is the Finnish partner in the FORESTWELL project which aims to produce learning material about the welfare effects of the forest, taking into account regenerative thinking. The third on site meeting took place in December 2023 in Ireland and inspired me to write an article about regenerative tourism and conscious travelers.
For more than three years now, I have learned about the change in thinking and attitude that is behind the regenerative tourism, together with others in international community. In regenerative thinking, the goal is to increase well-being, not only for individuals, but also for communities and nature.
What is the purpose of tourism
The more I learn, the more I want to put things into practice and understand travelers’ experiences and wishes and I want to make the voice of conscious travelers heard. What interests me the most is what people living in travel destinations want and what nature would tell us if it could talk.
I also think about the balance of the economy and the change in values. Tourism is an industry whose goal is to be a financially viable business but is it the only goal anymore and should we rethink how the economic good is distributed.
Tourism has been said to be an opportunity to generate economic well-being and work even where previous livelihoods have lost their potential. Sustainable tourism focused on finding solutions that would preserve tourism as it was used to be understood so that natural resources are sufficient, the problem of climate change is solved and other aspects of sustainability are taken into account.
We cannot, though, regenerate something that has caused the problems, by forcefully holding on to what has not proven to be an activity that increases vitality but find new ways to produce well-being.
The framework of tourism, the infrastructure and the business idea have been built for that tourism, the measures of success of which have been quantitative goals (tourism income, numbers of international tourists and overnight stays). We can’t just ”put out fires” and look for solutions to forcefully maintain the existing and accustomed service structures.
For this need, we can introduce regenerative thinking. Regenerative tourism requires redefining tourism and a change in attitudes. Regenerative tourism offers opportunities to see the possibilities of tourism as even stronger, specially when connecting industry boundaries. You can read some previous articles about regenerative tourism.
Redefining Tourism
Redefining tourism is at the core of regenerative thinking; how are achievements and success measured, what is given up and what will be replaced?
In the name of honesty, it must be stated that tourism in many places was born from the need to primarily please tourists, at any cost. We can’t forcefully stick to tourism as we understand it now, but honestly look at what kind of tourism genuinely produces well-being for individuals, communities and nature.
The most attention should now be paid to the experiences and services that represent or preserve the nature, original atmosphere or traditions of the place. We have to learn to define together with the local people and with an understanding of nature, what is the sense of place and we should share successes and concrete actions.
From words to actions
The biggest need for change arises from raising the awareness of tourists. We should not be too careful to point out the problems of the place, neither should we underestimate the group of travelers who are genuinely conscious and want to make a difference.
I believe that conscious travelers are ready to pay a fair price for services, make compromises, give up the old, interested in to know the challenges and problems of the destination and are willing to participate in regenerating tourism.
We should not ne satisfied with just talking and thinking, but putting the talk into practice and share experiences in transparent way. I hereby share some further reading about very concrete actions:
From Finnish Lapland to Canary Islands
Eduardo Martín is one of the Mood of Finland company´s partners when learning and redesigning tourism in regenerative way. Eduardo, like most of the inhabitants of the Canary Islands, is happy to welcome tourists, but hope that tourists also understand the challenges that the constantly growing number of tourists bring to the island.
One growing problem is, in addition to hotel construction, the increase in the need for renewable energy and the areas being reclaimed from nature for solar and hydropower.
Mood of Finland company, representing the FORESTEWELL project in Finland, coordinates Regenerative tourism panel discussion during the largest tourism event in Northern Europe, Travel Fair Helsinki, in January 2024
Travel is possible, but there are limits and each of us can make a difference:
To conclude this article, I invite you to watch the video below of the tree planting event in October 2022, during which the first FORESTWELL tree was planted as a symbol of the cooperation.
