Regenerative nature tourism – REGGAE

By the increased competence of entrepreneurs and developing thematic tourism experiences co-created together with customers, researchers, local community and entrepreneurs, tourism firms can attract new customers.

Traveling can have a positive or destructive effect on a nature destination and the surrounding society, depending on the planning of travel experiences and services. International studies show that passengers are increasingly aware of sustainability issues and are demanding experiences and services that meet these needs, which is reflected in the increasing number of responsible trips. The focus of this project is regenerative tourism, which is considered to be one form of transformative tourism. The aim of regenerative tourism is to create net positive impacts by increasing the well-being of people, societies, cultures and ecosystems. The project also responds to the challenges and needs of micro- and small- and medium-sized enterprises and supports them in the development and marketing of regenerative tourism experiences.

The aim of the project is to promote accessible and regenerative tourism and to improve the well-being of entrepreneurs in the project area by building networks and clusters, as well as by developing courses and new tourism experiences. To support all of this, a guidebook for entrepreneurs is also produced. As the know-how of entrepreneurs increases and new tourism experience services are developed together with customers, researchers, the local community and entrepreneurs, tourism companies can attract new customers. The competitiveness of tourism companies will improve as they bring wider benefits to the destination that support the environment and the community as a whole. Regenerative tourism increases the well-being of people, local communities and nature, and brings more stable livelihoods to entrepreneurs.

More information about the project can be found on the official project web page.

The project is funded by European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Interreg Aurora programme. The project is implemented by University of Eastern Finland, Natural Resources Institute Finland LUKE (coordinator), Centre for Economic Development of Kristiinankaupunki, Gold of Lappland Economic Association, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Centria Univeristy of Applied Sciences and Mid Sweden University.