Built to foster solutions-oriented conversations, the three-day virtual Regenerative Travel Summit featured a mix of panels, focused on tourism and hospitality and how we can move beyond sustainability to regeneration in order to reverse climate change and use tourism to rebuild for a more positive future. The five regenerative solutions that emerged out of the summit:
1. Radical Transparency
A maxim in economics holds that transparency makes markets work more efficiently. Zita Cobb, CEO of Shorefast Foundation, has pioneered the idea of “economic nutrition” as a means to help increase buyer awareness of the economic impact of their purchasing decisions to the local market while also spotlighting seller accountability about how much they are extracting from the local economy.
2. Collaboration
Fighting climate change will require real collaboration across all stakeholders including the public and private sectors and the full engagement of our society and communities. Dr. Dune Ives, Managing Director of Lonely Whale shares that: “Collaboration is key. We have to start sharing more information about incredible work that others are doing in a non-competitive way because the ocean is our number one source of life. And if we don’t start doing this now, it doesn’t matter how many awards somebody wins. It doesn’t matter how much funding somebody gets. It doesn’t matter how many customers someone has. It’s not going to matter.”
3. Create Resilience From Diversification
Economic diversification is a key component of regenerative development as it calls for a shift from vulnerable products and jobs to a broader range of solutions including income sources that are low-emission and more climate-resilient while reducing poverty and generating employment. As Elizabeth Ojo, Director of Operations at ALU School of Wildlife Conservation points out: “The truth is diversification is the key for building resilience, whether you’re an individual, an organization, a business, or a country. Empires are built when organizations decide to diversify either vertically or horizontally.”
4. Education
Education is an essential element of a global response to climate change in looking at regenerative solutions. It helps people understand and address the impact of global warming, encourages changes in their attitudes and behavior, and helps them adapt to climate change-related trends.
5. Diversity and Inclusion
Diverse and inclusive cultures cultivate a wider variety of ideas, effective problem solving, and, ultimately, greater chances of success. The travel industry must be proactive and decisive in driving this agenda across the sector if we are to bring forward more effective climate solutions. Diversity also provides more resiliency in natural systems and regenerative travel.
This is an excerpt from an article by Alexandra Seitz, originally published by REGENERATIVE Travel.
