5 Principles to Replenishing Nature through Tourism

[Music]

hi there

my name is amanda ho and i’m the

co-founder of virginia travel

i’m so excited to be here today to share

with you why we must move beyond

sustainability to redemptive travel

in order to protect our planet for

future generations to come

with an increased number of forest fires

floods and natural weather phenomenons

around the world

the climate crisis has come to the

forefront of our society

as a battle of our lifetime then

cover 19 came along and we realized that

the pandemic was just a dress rehearsal

for climate change

as planes ground to a halt and the

travel industry effectively came to a

standstill

we reflected on the basic notion of why

we travel and how we travel

we realized that it was an urgent call

to repair and replenish

the damage that we have done not only to

our environment but our communities

how can we do things better how can we

make the necessary changes to improve

the conditions of life

for all stakeholders the answer

is regenerative travel from a very

simplistic standpoint

being green is about doing less damage

sustainability is reaching a neutral

and regeneration is actually making it

better

when i was working as a travel

journalist just five years ago

i realized it was hard to find hotels

that were truly committed to

environmental and social impact

as i strive to write about properties

that are dedicated to making a positive

change through travel

all my search for these stories i’m a

debbie lementhol

the owner of playa viva in mexico where

i had my first experience

in a 100 off-grid solar hotel where i

was completely immersed in nature

releasing baby sea turtles into the

ocean and eating farm fresh produce

directly sourced from the on-site farm

fast forward just a few years david and

i came together to join forces to create

redundant travel

to make it easy for conscious travelers

to find values-aligned hotels

through a curator’s hotel collection and

effectively make a positive change

wherever they travel

by booking hotels that give back to the

local communities and ecosystems

the travel industry as it currently

operates is not sustainable

we must move beyond sustainability to

regeneration

in order to reverse our negative impact

and move towards a path of overall

improvement

the core five principles of regeneration

say

we have to think differently about how

we exist

by putting these principles into

practice we can begin the path of

regeneration

whole system thinking is the first

principle that recognizes that all

stakeholders

including elements as a physical land

wildlife and people

are considered in every decision as well

as the potential ramifications these

choices have on our actions

for reply aviva in mexico this means

getting people out of their rooms

to the communal area and connecting with

the community that does apply viva

which also includes the staff from there

guests go out to the community and the

farther out they go

the more connected they come to place

through all systems thinking

we can have an all-encompassing approach

that shows everything is interconnected

and ultimately influenced by one another

through our second principle

honoring a sense of place we as a host

can allow the traveler to be fully

immersed in the story of its history

to think upon every aspect of the guest

experience from food

to design honoring sense of place means

to understand its traits and all that to

find it

for fogo island in newfoundland the

honor sense of place

through precise details decided on in

collaborative design

meetings weaving the fabric of its

history throughout the entire guest

experience

from the way they designed their

bathrooms all the way to their culinary

offering in its architecture

they first looked at the inn’s food

offering and encouraged residents to

reactivate the gardens they once

abandoned

so we were returned to ingredients that

they had forgotten and the discovery of

ingredients that their ancestors didn’t

even know were edible

fogo islanders were able to rediscover

what was already on their doorstep

the third principle is community

inclusion and partnership

which is a fundamental cornerstone of

regeneration as its meaning resides in

the community and people that inhabit

the land

four gal oil lodge in sri lanka the

owners established an open dialogue

between gal oil and the indigenous

communities

to offer a chance for all parties to

voice concerns

and become a part of the ongoing

evolution of the space

as a result of continual development and

communication

galion the vedas developed veda walks as

an offering for its guests

these walks offer unique glimpse of a

culture that is rapidly disappearing

by incorporating that community with

this intimate knowledge of the landscape

the potential of the land increases

exponentially and by extension

the need to protect it operating under

this methodology

rewards the traveler with authentic

experiences

the fourth principle of aspiration is

defined as the desire

and the ambition to achieve something

when placed within the regenerative

context

this desire is translated into

actualizing the potential of all

individually and collectively going back

to playa viva

as an example potential rests and what

most would envision as a problem

fly aviva’s at the base of a watershed

and as a result

has a responsibility to look after

whatever goes into it and touches them

so it’s not just looking at the town

next door it’s first looking at the

trash that enters

while implementing environmental

educational waste and waste streams

they can begin to educate the youth and

activate them to clean up

and change their actions they can see

firsthand that waste doesn’t just

disappear

by having the goal to empower them and

make them part of that change

is the essence of aspiration the fifth

and final principle

is of continual coevolution that affirms

that regeneration is not episodic

it evolves continually one has to be

conscious of its evolution

for great plants conservation in kenya

and botswana they were able to transform

a nurse while hunter and poe church

within a leading guide

and eventually a shareholder of the

company a prime example of how

co-evolution of people in place

can ultimately create a successful model

from poaching wildlife

to protecting wildlife for tourism by

implementing these five principles of

our generation

we can begin to transform and develop a

collaborative relationship with nature

in our communities

these principles say we have to think

differently about how we exist

it is ultimately incumbent on the travel

industry hotels

to operators and travel agents to

educate and inspire consumers and

travelers

on how and why they should travel in a

regenerative way

by creating the space for engagement

interaction understanding for travelers

to learn

and experience the vibrancy of a place

is an important first step in inspiring

the paradigm shift

this is just the beginning of the

healing process of our earth

thank you for listening today and we

hope that you will join us in the

journey of generation