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| Regenerative Travel, a benefit corporation, travel planning service, and a collection of independent hotels and lodges committed to regenerative hospitality, closed its second annual Regenerative Travel Summit recently. Built to foster solutions-oriented conversations, the three-day virtual summit featured a mix of panels and open discussions giving a platform to passionate conservation experts, indigenous tourism consultants, regenerative agritourism specialists, social entrepreneurs, hoteliers, and journalists. All weighed in on the question- how can we harness travel to regenerate community and place While many topics were covered throughout the three days and though diverse in their backgrounds, missions and brand ethos, some consistent themes held strong amongst all speakers throughout each day: Day One: Whole Systems Thinking | Key Takeaway We should build on the discipline of not imposing what regenerative is and instead take into account the many perspectives and breadth of knowledge held by community and place. Human diversity is just as critical to society as biodiversity is to an ecosystem… We cannot just rename the problem, we need to also renew our mindsets and become the innovative futurists that we’re waiting for Day Two: Honoring Sense of Place | Key Takeaway When we talk about honoring sense of place—it is an expansive definition of place, one that doesn’t just mean a location on a map. It requires we take the time to understand the full context of the place, who the knowledge holders are, and how tourism can not just reflect local values but also how it can empower knowledge holders, valuing their culture and personal experiences. Day Three: Continual Coevolution | Key Takeaway Regeneration begins at home within ourselves and regenerative leadership is essential for us all to make the necessary changes, to create the paradigm shift within our own communities. We know that the evolution of our communities is not separate from our own evolution, that we are continually evolving and learning from one another and changing each other. Reflecting on the close of the Summit, Co-founder of Regenerative Travel, Amanda Ho stated, “Regenerative Travel was born from the desire to effect meaningful and holistic change. To build on the existing principles of what has sustained us and to forge new ways of ensuring a lasting legacy for a thriving humanity and the planet at large. This new way however is nothing new. Nature reminds us that everything comes full circle. We return to, and regenerate forgotten wisdom which has moved us forward since the beginning time. We are now at that point where a cycle has come full circle, and are ready to begin anew. To learn from what has been and move forward in greater numbers with a unified mission of ensuring a positive legacy through travel.” In line with the brand’s mission to drive change as the Regenerative Travel Summit wrapped up this year, the team announced its next event — the first Regenerative Travel Trade Show & Industry Forum which will unite ethics-aligned industry stakeholders and provide tools for them to engage with regenerative principles across two days on October 26 & 27th. The Regenerative Travel Summit 2021 brought together diverse perspectives in regeneration—from established thought leaders to emerging innovators—to discuss how the travel industry can be designed to thrive and serve as a catalyst for change, generating economic, social, and environmental wealth. The summit invited changemakers from the travel industry and beyond to develop their regenerative mindset, learn about practical solutions for the industry’s greatest challenges, and tools to unite travel with conscious consumers’ desire to do good. The Regenerative Travel Summit, Sept 20-22: Harnessing Travel to Regenerate Community & Place ### About Regenerative Travel: Regenerative Travel is a shared benefit corporation and booking platform providing marketing and hospitality services to a network of over 50 independently owned eco-luxury boutique hotels dedicated to the highest levels of social and environmental impact located in over 24 countries worldwide. Through sharing individual best practices and through collaboration, Regenerative Travel enables the Regenerative Resorts hotel collection to work together to achieve significant economies of scale and to make a deeper impact. — |
