Regenerative Tourism

If We build, Will they come? Many people in Hawai’i have embraced a vision of sustainable or regenerative tourism based on Native Hawaiian values. But can we persuade millions of tourist each rear to also embrace that vision? This event will focus on how some local organizations have already made regenerative tourism work and how we can expand that model to other venues and activities.

“Regenerative” tourism is when visitors travel with a mindset to leave a destination better than it was before they arrived, and experiences go beyond a traditional vacation. A new survey of 463 Kauaʻi residents, one of the first in Hawaiʻi that attempts to capture the residents’ perspective, suggests that regenerative tourism makes the tourism industry and tourists more attractive to residents. An overwhelming 96.3% of Kauaʻi residents responded favorably toward regenerative travel, and 98.7% responded favorably toward tourist attractiveness.