Sustainable Tourism and Regenerative Tourism:
The Evolution of a New Consciousness in Brazil
In recent years, tourism has undergone a profound transformation, aligning itself with values of environmental preservation and respect for local cultures. In this context, two concepts have emerged as pillars of this evolution: sustainable tourism and regenerative tourism. Although both share a concern for the impact of tourism activities, there is a crucial difference that separates them: while sustainable tourism aims to minimize harm, regenerative tourism goes beyond, promoting the recovery and strengthening of ecosystems and the affected communities.
Evolving from sustainable tourism, regenerative tourism emerges as an innovative response to the environmental and social challenges faced by destinations around the world. Sustainable tourism, historically, is based on the idea of preserving what already exists, seeking to minimize human impact on the environment and communities. This model proposes practices that range from the efficient management of natural resources to the promotion of more inclusive tourism, ensuring that local communities economically benefit from tourism activities without compromising their culture and way of life. Despite its undeniable value, sustainable tourism is often limited to being a maintenance practice — an attempt to mitigate the damage already caused by unregulated exploitation.
On the other hand, regenerative tourism goes beyond this conservative proposal. It is not content with merely preserving the environment; its goal is to restore and regenerate what has been damaged, whether it be the natural ecosystem or the local cultures impacted by conventional tourism. This transformative approach promotes an exchange between the visitor and the environment, where the tourist is not just a collector but an active agent in the recovery of the places they visit. In the context of regenerative tourism, the visitor’s deep involvement with the environment allows for the creation of meaningful experiences that not only promote the healing of ecosystems but also the internal regeneration of the tourist themselves.
In Brazil, this concept is beginning to gain traction, with initiatives focused on natural areas of great environmental and cultural value. Regions such as the Amazon, the Pantanal, and the Atlantic Forest, which already face various manipulations due to economic exploitation, become ideal for the implementation of regenerative practices. By adopting this model, regenerative tourism not only helps in the recovery of local biodiversity but also values and strengthens the communities that live there, promoting a more balanced and harmonious relationship between humans and nature.
Thus, when comparing sustainable and regenerative tourism, we see that while the former focuses on maintenance and preservation, the latter seeks active and conscious intervention, capable of healing what has been damaged and creating a new tourism paradigm that is more sensitive to the planet’s needs.
Sustainable Tourism: Preserving to Continue
The concept of sustainable tourism emerged in response to the growing awareness of the negative impacts of mass tourism. It proposes a balance between tourism development and the conservation of natural and cultural resources. The premise is simple: tourism can and should be a force for good, as long as there is planning and responsibility. This includes environmental preservation, local community involvement, and maintaining the economic viability of destinations.
In sustainable tourism, the focus is on preserving what already exists, ensuring that future generations can also enjoy these resources. Practices such as waste reduction, conscious use of natural resources, and respect for cultural traditions are central elements. However, despite its relevance, sustainable tourism alone can be limited in acting preventively, without promoting a deeper transformation of environments and communities.
Regenerative Tourism: Restoring to Evolve
This is where regenerative tourism comes into play, proposing a broader and more proactive vision. Instead of simply not causing harm, regenerative tourism seeks to revitalize ecosystems and cultures that have been degraded or underutilized over time. It is based on the idea that tourism activity can be an active force for regeneration, promoting the recovery of natural areas, strengthening local culture, and, most importantly, creating a deeper connection between visitors and destinations.
Unlike sustainable tourism, which preserves, regenerative tourism aims to recover and revitalize. This is manifested in initiatives that go beyond “causing no impact,” such as supporting reforestation projects, regenerating degraded soils, and strengthening local communities through the appreciation of their traditions and knowledge. More than avoiding degradation, regenerative tourism offers the tourist the opportunity to become an active part of the solution, contributing to the rebirth of the places they visit.
The Regenerative Tourism Approach in Our Work
In Brazil, the application of regenerative tourism takes on even greater importance, given the country’s rich biodiversity and vast cultural heritage. However, this richness also presents greater challenges, especially in areas that have suffered from unregulated tourism and the exploitation of natural resources.
In the work we develop with Vivah Experiências, the focus is on creating immersive experiences in nature, where the internal regeneration of participants is as important as the regeneration of the environments. Through experiences that combine direct contact with nature and wellness practices such as meditation and self-awareness, we seek not only to restore ecosystems but also to promote profound personal transformation. We believe that an individual’s healing and balance are intrinsically linked to the revitalization of the natural environments around them.
Our experiences take place primarily in natural areas such as forests, beaches, and rural environments, where the visitor connects directly with the land and its energies. In this process, the tourist ceases to be a mere spectator and becomes an active agent in the regeneration of the place, contributing to the restoration of ecosystems and communities.
The Future of Regenerative Tourism in Brazil
As regenerative tourism solidifies as a transformative practice, it points to the future of the sector, where sustainability is not the endpoint but the starting point. Brazil, with its vast ecological and cultural diversity, has the potential to become one of the world’s leading regenerative tourism destinations. The challenge lies in expanding this awareness, both among tourists and destination managers, creating a new tourism culture that goes beyond preservation and embraces regeneration as the path to the future.
What we propose with Vivah Experiências is a journey of reconnection, where the visitor transforms themselves while transforming the environment around them. Regeneration, both internal and external, is at the heart of our work, and we believe it is the path to truly transformative tourism.
Regenerative tourism is, therefore, a natural evolution of sustainable tourism, inviting us to look beyond conservation and adopt an active posture of repair and revitalization, both of the destinations we visit and ourselves.
By Claudia Blands
Claudia Blands, an expert in Regenerative Tourism and founder of Vivah Regenerative Experiences. With a background in Sustainable Tourism Management and extensive experience in developing initiatives that seek to reconnect people with nature, she works to transform tourism into a tool for environmental, social, and cultural regeneration. Throughout her career, she has participated in impactful projects in various regions, always with the goal of promoting journeys that inspire a deep and transformative connection. In her column at Instituto Aupaba, she demonstrates how regenerative tourism is an invitation to look inward, heal, and, through this personal transformation, positively impact the environment and communities.
