Regenerative, Sustainable, Resilient: A Dialog

In the era of sustainability, tourism faces the challenge of transcending the simple mitigation of negative impacts to adopt a regenerative approach, one that seeks to restore, revitalize, and enrich local ecosystems and communities. In this context, Smart Tourism Destinations (ITD) emerge as a key tool, integrating technology, innovation and sustainability. 

The real importance is the exploration of the intersection between the regenerative approach, ITDs, and the ideas put forward in “Phytopolis,” by Stefano Mancuso, a book that proposes an urban model inspired by plant biology to create resilient and livable cities.

It is increasingly essential to have defined and agreed semantics; that is, a common language so that concepts are not confused and definitions and scopes are the same.

Words have relative weight, and just as saying “sostenibilidad” is not the same as saying “sustainability,” there is some confusion between regenerative, sustainable, and resilient.

According to the United Nations, the difference between sustainability and sostenibilidad is that sustainable is the process by which natural resources are preserved, conserved, and protected only for the benefit of present and future generations without taking into account the social, political and cultural needs of human beings, while sostenible is the process by which the economic, social, cultural diversity, and healthy environment needs of the present generation are satisfied without jeopardizing the satisfaction of these needs for future generations.

The regenerative approach goes beyond sustainability by seeking not only to maintain systems, but also to revitalize, restore, and enhance them. It involves giving back to ecosystems, communities, or economies more than is taken from them.

Resilience is the capacity of a system to resist, adapt, and recover from disturbances or changes, maintaining its essential functionality and structure.

Beyond the definitions, the key is the relationships between the concepts.

Relationship to regeneration and resilience:

- Sustainability means laying the groundwork by avoiding major damage but does not necessarily restore or improve systems as regeneration does.

- Resilience complements sustainability by preparing systems to withstand disturbances.

Relationship to sustainability and resilience:

- This goes beyond sustainability: while sustainability focuses on maintaining, regeneration emphasizes improvement.

- It also promotes resilience by strengthening systems to withstand future disruptions.

Relationship to sustainability and regeneration:

- Sustainability seeks to avoid crises, while regeneration  focuses on improving sustainable indicators to avoid crises that do occur.

-Regeneration can increase resilience by improving the health and strength of natural and social systems.

Smart Tourism Destinations: A Platform for Regeneration?

The transition to a regenerative model in ITDs can be achieved through the application of innovative technologies and strategies that promote regeneration. For example: i) Use of big data to manage tourism flows: This allows avoiding overloading in sensitive areas and directing tourists to areas in need of economic development or environmental restoration; ii) Promotion of the circular economy: ITDs can encourage practices such as recycling, composting and reuse of materials in tourism activities; and iii) Community-led regeneration projects: Initiatives that empower local communities to lead environmental and cultural regeneration projects, using digital technologies to measure impact.

Fitopolis:  Inspiration for Regenerative Tourism

In “Phytopolis,” Mancuso proposes a model of a city inspired by plants, with an emphasis on sustainability, resilience and cooperation. Mancuso highlights the ability of plants to adapt, regenerate and network, qualities that can be applied to the design of smart tourism destinations.

Some of the key ideas from “Phytopolis” that can inspire regenerative tourism include: a) Nature-inspired design: Mancuso argues that cities should emulate the structures and processes of plants, such as photosynthesis and efficient resource management. In the tourism context, this could translate into building green infrastructure that integrates solar energy, water harvesting systems, and green roofs; b) Networking: Plants function in collaborative networks that share resources and communication. ITDs can apply this principle by creating digital and social networks that connect local communities with tourists and institutions, promoting an exchange of knowledge and resources; and c) Adaptability: The ability of plants to adapt to changing conditions is fundamental to meeting the challenges of climate change.

Considering these concepts, it is important to keep in mind that for their activation, governance must be in place. To this end, Elinor Ostrom's theory can provide a framework for the governance of shared resources that perfectly complements the regenerative approach. By combining the two, it is possible to design comprehensive strategies that not only protect the commons, but also restore and enrich them for the benefit of all. Ostrom defines nested governance, where she recognizes that the challenges related to sustainability and regeneration are complex and require the coordination of actors at local, regional, national and even global levels.

Nested governance involves the creation of organized, multilevel decision-making systems, where each level has specific but interconnected roles and responsibilities. This makes it possible to manage complex problems that transcend a single scale, such as the management of watersheds, forests, or regional climates.

Smart destinations, as complex systems, must therefore integrate these concepts into the system to activate them with governance and projects; without this integration and activation we will continue to discuss the immortality of the crab.