The lowdown on regenerative travel: What it is, and how it differs to sustainable travel

Are holidays with regenerative credentials the next step for eco-conscious travellers? We investigate

Text: Tiff H

While travel has been off the cards, we’ve got our fingers and toes crossed that it will make a comeback this year.  It goes without saying that we’ll be faced with a very different travel landscape, yet this will reflect a similar shift in how most of us will approach it; with a certain degree of cautiousness and consciousness. The pandemic allowed all of us to understand the impact of our lifestyle, with a survey revealing that 70% of participants were more aware now about the impact human activity has on climate change. Indeed, 40% reporting that they intend to adopt more sustainable behaviour in the future.

Yet, is sustainability within the travel industry enough? We speak to Amanda Ho, co-founder of Regenerative Travel a booking platform for the Regenerative Resorts collection of independently owned eco-luxury boutique hotels dedicated to the highest levels of social and environmental impact. 

What exactly is regenerative travel? 

In simplistic terms, being green is about doing less damage, sustainability is about reaching net neutral, and regeneration is actually making it better. To travel in a regenerative way is more than just offsetting your carbon footprint for flights; it’s about understanding the impact your tourism dollar makes on the destination you are travelling to and the companies that you choose to support as a consumer. 

Regeneration is to transform and develop a collaborative relationship with nature according to Bill Reed of Regenesis Group, the original visionary behind this concept and way of thinking. We believe that the travel industry must move beyond sustainability to regeneration, especially during this time. It’s an on-going journey that is to be continually improved upon.

Is this a pretty new way of thinking?

Regeneration is not a buzz word, but a paradigm shift to whole systems thinking. Looking at the general state of green design and a majority of ‘green’ hospitality projects, most will address efficiency issues such as saving energy or recycling which is only doing “less bad”. Regeneration takes into account the history of a place in order to understand one’s role as a steward of the location and its people. The usual approach for a “sustainable or eco-resort” is more transactional where the resort will simply hire the local community and give them work. Rather, we invite hotels to join our collection based on the owner's values of regeneration and their commitment to furthering that journey. 

Why do you think regenerative is so crucial at this time?
It’s the key to reversing the climate crisis we are currently facing as a society and a human species. We must move beyond sustainability to regenerative practices as a mindset in order to repair, replenish, and restore our Earth. We’re at a turning point to change the course of the inevitable destruction of our planet. We all have a responsibility to be more conscious and more mindful of how we interact with our world.

Which demographic does regenerative travel appeal to?

Those who are looking to align their vacation with their values. We call these conscious consumers “label readers” as they want to understand everything that goes into the product to make the best-informed decisions.  The conscious traveller votes with their dollar and makes sure their purchases align with their values. We believe that there will be a trend and desire to seek out regenerative travel as the pandemic has given us an opportunity to stop, pause and reset, and examine the basic notion of why we even travel in the first place. When people do travel again, it will be slower, more intentional, more conscious, more sustainable, and more regenerative.

How much education on regenerative travel do you provide to your guests? 

Education and inspiration are a core part of what we do. It is incumbent on us as a company to be storytellers and share with our audience, travellers, and consumers alike the importance of traveling in a regenerative way and how to. There is so much greenwashing in the industry with hotels and travel companies touting that they are sustainable —  we want to make it easy for travellers to discover travel that is truly regenerative. 

Do you see an increasing number of brands that are calling themselves ‘regenerative’ as opposed to simply ‘sustainable’?

We are definitely seeing an increase and it is essential for us to ensure that the integrity of the word and the practices are being held true to its meaning. We recently released a white paper on The Regenerative Principles for Hospitality to educate all stakeholders in the tourism industry to understand what the principles of regeneration are and how they can be applied to hotels. Through various interviews and case studies with leading hoteliers we compiled best practices on how to take practical next steps to begin a regenerative journey.

How does the landscape in Asia compare to the rest of the world?

We have a number of incredible Regenerative Resorts in our collection who are leading the way in regenerative practices such as Tiger Mountain Lodge Pokhara in Nepal, Gal Oya Lodge in Sri Lanka, Nay Palad Hideaway in the Philippines. A number of new hotels that are opening in Asia also are placing a focus on developing in a sustainable way, but yet to take the next step to regeneration.

What are some key trends that you’re seeing in the regenerative travel realm?

• Thoughtful business practice
  There will be a shift from focusing on just environmental practices, to upholding social inclusions into all aspects of operations. Properties will need to demonstrate consideration and commitment to constant improvement with regards tothe wellbeing of the wider communities and ecosystems in which the property operates. 

• Honouring of place
  Travellers want hotels to be harmonious with its surroundings — to be respectful of, inclusive of and sensitive to the local people and natural environment. Travel companies need to demonstrate awareness of the environmental impact of its activity and show commitment — within its resources — to reducing or mitigating such impact on an ongoing basis.

• Inclusive, diverse and socially just
  In light of the Black Lives Matter movement, a lack of representation is no longer acceptable. Travel companies will be expected to be overtly welcoming of all people both as employees and as guests, and to consciously work to even the current imbalance for underrepresented communities.

About Amanda Ho

Amanda is the co-founder of Regenerative Travel, a booking platform for the Regenerative Resorts collection of independently owned eco-luxury boutique hotels dedicated to the highest levels of social and environmental impact. She is the brand architect behind developing Regenerative Travel as a market leader for regenerative tourism and enables the hotels in the collection to create a deeper impact together.

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