From Sustainability to Regeneration: A Paradigm Shift in Tourism Development

Abstract

This study explores the conceptual foundations of regenerative tourism by tracing its development from principles of sustainable and regenerative practices. It highlights the shift from sustainability to regeneration, emphasizing how regenerative approaches aim to restore and enhance ecosystems and communities beyond merely minimizing impacts.The paper follows a qualitative and exploratory approach, relying on the review of literature based on the issues of the study. The sources reviewed include scholarly articles, books, policy documents, and related reports. Through careful reading, comparison, and thematic synthesis, the research identifies the key theoretical concepts and principles that form the basis of regenerative tourism, emphasizing its holistic nature. This study focuses on the popular concepts such as social-ecological systems, ecological worldview, tourism living systems and investment in people, places and nature in a long-term perspective for transformation. The major thrust of this study is to raise a question- how regenerative tourism came into existence in the field of tourism academia. It equally helps to understand theconceptual roots of regenerative tourism. This study is organized into several sections, including the introduction, literature review, methodology  and thematic discussions presented under different subheadings. Finally, the concluding section summarizes the major insights and overall findings.