Within the 10 principles of sustainable tourism, we often talk about preserving nature, culture and the environment for future generations. What if we don't "just" look after - but strengthen, improve or renew?
Imagine, for example, an electric car that brakes, the kinetic energy that would otherwise be lost as heat is now recovered, and converted into electrical energy that can be stored and used again. The range of the car increases this way. What if the tourist travelling to our destination can contribute to creating better conditions for both people, animals, nature and other life? Visit Narvik wants to take a closer look at the possibilities, together with our members, the municipality and other partners, to introduce regenerative principles into our operations. We want to take the step from "preservation" to "improvement".
Travel is constantly changing, the world is changing. Sustainable development has left its mark on the last 10 years, and we see new trends that will come after the pandemic. Destinations with meaning, social communities and sustainable destinations are future trends according to future researchers.Regenerative tourism means that the tourist contributes to making the destination he visits better, and highly relevant for smart and sustainable social development. The tourist of the future wants to go from "more" to "better". Where success was previously measured in more turnover, more money and more consumption, it is now about increased quality of life, pride in what we do, being able to influence positively, and not destroy the environment.*
Before, we traveled to get an escape from reality, de-stress and have time off, now we want to experience a lifestyle we are dreaming of, and experience something meaningful. For example; Where we used to snorkel, we would gladly take a piece of coral to take home as a souvenir, (because we didn't know any better) now we want to snorkel to help protect and feed the corals. The guests of the future want quality, not quantity, and sustainability will be the business model of the future. It is also pointed out that a selling point for attracting visitors is to show that the locals are doing well, if we get future tourists and visitors to contribute to this in our region, we are talking about regenerative tourism.
In the spring of 2022, the Narvik region was approved and awarded labeled as a Sustainable destination. This does not mean that we are sustainable, but that we are working with constant improvements. That is why we applied for a preliminary project where the aim is to identify measures and principles for regenerative tourism, which in a main project will be realized. Precisely as a measure for continuous improvements. The preliminary project will start in 2023.