Table of Contents
Introduction
The language of tourism policy has shifted. Where “sustainable tourism” dominated the discourse for two decades, “regenerative tourism” is now appearing in European Commission strategy documents, OECD policy guidance, US state legislation, and World Economic Forum frameworks. The Sustainability and Resilience Institute has been at the forefront of this transition in New Zealand — including through the Routledge Handbook of Regenerative Tourism and the SmaRT App– regenerative tourism assessment tool.
This post sets out what regenerative tourism means in substantive policy terms, why it represents a genuine departure from sustainability thinking, and what practical steps governments need to take to move from aspiration to implementation.
From Sustainability to Regeneration: What Has Changed
Sustainable tourism, as defined by UN Tourism, aims to meet present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own. It is a minimisation framework — do less harm, use fewer resources, reduce negative impacts.
Regenerative tourism goes further. It asks not whether a destination can absorb tourism without deteriorating, but whether tourism can actively restore and enhance the ecological, cultural, and social systems of a place. The benchmark shifts from “no net harm” to “net positive contribution.”
This is not merely rhetorical. It has measurable implications. A regenerative framework requires that tourism investment contribute to biodiversity recovery, that visitor levies fund ecosystem restoration, that cultural heritage is strengthened rather than commodified, and that economic benefits are retained and distributed within host communities.
The International Policy Momentum
The policy signal from international bodies in 2025 and 2026 has been unusually clear and consistent.
In early 2025, the European Economic and Social Committee formally endorsed regenerative tourism as a pillar of EU long-term tourism competitiveness, recommending integration of regenerative principles into EU tourism policy including pilot programmes and circular economy initiatives. The EU Sustainable Tourism Strategy 2026 is expected to embed regeneration as a long-term goal across all member states.
In November 2025, the World Economic Forum launched the Principles for Transformative Tourism — a cross-sector framework explicitly positioning tourism as a “net-positive force for people and planet” by 2030.
In 2024, Hawaii became the first US state to formally integrate regenerative tourism into its statewide planning framework through legislation that amended the Hawaii State Planning Act to centre environmental stewardship, cultural integrity, and community wellbeing.
The OECD’s 2025 tourism policy work treats regenerative practice as the next phase of destination resilience, not a specialist niche.
What This Requires from Government
Moving from sustainability to regeneration requires governments to make several substantive changes to how they design and fund tourism policy.
1. Redefine the performance metrics. If governments continue to measure tourism success primarily through visitor arrivals and expenditure, they will continue to incentivise volume over value. Regenerative governance requires a broader indicator set covering ecosystem condition, community wellbeing, cultural vitality, and economic equity.
2. Redesign funding flows. Visitor levies and tourism taxes should be hypothecated — at least partially — to fund restoration of the natural and cultural assets that tourism depends on. Several European jurisdictions are moving in this direction. New Zealand has not yet done so systematically.
3. Integrate across portfolios. Regenerative tourism cannot be managed by a tourism ministry alone. It requires coordinated action across environment, housing, transport, Māori affairs, and local government. Siloed policy will produce siloed outcomes.
4. Build community into governance structures. Regeneration cannot be imposed on communities. It must be co-designed with them. This means genuine participatory processes, not consultation exercises conducted after decisions have already been made.
5. Invest in measurement. In 2024, the UN statistical system endorsed UN Tourism’s Statistical Framework for Measuring the Sustainability of Tourism — a significant step toward internationally comparable data. Governments need to align national data collection with this framework.
The New Zealand Opportunity
New Zealand’s positioning — clean environment, indigenous cultural richness, strong conservation ethic, and established international brand — makes it one of the most credible places in the world to pioneer regenerative tourism governance. The SRI Institute’s work, including Project Regenerative Tourism and the SmaRT assessment platform, provides practical tools to support this transition.
The question is whether government policy frameworks will catch up with the opportunity. That requires political will, inter-agency coordination, and a willingness to measure tourism by what it leaves behind, not just what it generates.d adapt to the pressures ahead. Those that do not will increasingly find that tourism creates costs that outstrip its benefits.
Published by the Sustainability and Resilience Institute New Zealand. For advisory services or research partnerships, contact hello@sustainabilityandresilience.co.nz.
