I’d like to explore this question today, because I’ve been asked it frequently lately. My first response is often: “I can’t really put it into words, because it’s less a question of intellect and more something that reveals itself through experience.”
For example, I’ve just returned from a week working on an EU project (ReTour), where tourism organizations in six regions are developing regenerative experiences. We tested five of these offerings—and all of them touched me deeply. Not because they address and optimize the sustainability triad (ecological, economic, social), but because I encountered people who are consciously reinterpreting the story of their region. People who are asking what their region truly needs right now—and how they can help make its unique qualities tangible again.
These are people like Aleksandra and Mariusz Ronewicz, who founded the first officially registered vineyard within the city limits of Szczecin and are now developing it into a regenerative tourism project. Their vision combines the revival of historical wine traditions—the region was already a wine-growing area in the Middle Ages—with the revitalization of a long-neglected neighborhood.
The property includes a villa from the 1940s that originally belonged to the urban planner Hans Reichow. The couple has carefully researched the history of the building and the Reichow family and is now restoring the villa in its original modernist style. What emerges is a vibrant place with radiance for the entire region—for locals as well as visitors.
Sustainability indicators versus regenerative experience
Of course, this project can be described using classical sustainability indicators: increasing biodiversity, improved soil quality, or additional local value creation. But experiencing it makes clear that this alone falls short. What truly matters is the mindset from which it is being created. It generates impacts that cannot be directly measured: neighbors become curious, people feel inspired, perspectives begin to shift. It’s not primarily about whether visitor numbers or revenues increase, but whether each visit leaves the place a little more alive. That is where the real shift in perspective lies.
By the way, this is just one of four experiences being developed in the Szczecin region by Anna Gardzinska and Anna Janicka from the local DMO (West Pomeranian Regional Tourist Organization), together with local experts Hubert Gonera and Tomasz Duda, following a regenerative approach. The other three are also experiences centered around wineries, as one winery for each season (summer, autumn, winter, and spring) develops and tests an experience that can then be used year-round by all wineries. These, too, reflect the cyclical and co-creative spirit of this project.
I’d like to share a second story from this week, because it is precisely these concrete experiences that make the difference between sustainable and regenerative tourism tangible.
A forest-night as a regenerative experience
It’s the story of Alexandra and Michael Heck, who took over the Ostseecamping Peenemünde in 2016 after a 30-year career in banking. As part of the EU ReTour project, they worked with other local stakeholders to develop the “Forest Night”—a family offering where parents and children experience a nighttime walk in the forest and can optionally stay overnight in tree tents at the campsite. They cook together, and practices such as forest bathing become something you can truly experience. This experience was co-developed and empowered by the Institute for Tourism Research in Northern Europe (NIT), the MV Tourism GmbH and the local actors.
The starting point was a shared dialogue with local stakeholders on the island of Usedom about the region’s challenges. One of these was the lack of respect many visitors show toward nature—and the resulting pressures.
A conventional sustainable approach might have focused on communicating rules: stay on the paths, don’t leave litter, be considerate. The regenerative approach chooses a different path. It focuses on experience and relationship.
We experienced the forest with our eyes closed: the feel of damp moss, the rough bark of a tree, the scent of the forest floor. This is not about transferring knowledge—it’s about cultivating empathy. The forest is not perceived as a backdrop, but as a living counterpart. The resulting behavioral change doesn’t come from instructions, but from a new mindset—one that extends far beyond that single night. It strengthens the relationship between humans and nature, a relationship that has been lost in many places.
For me, these two stories illustrate the difference very clearly. Regenerative tourism is not simply the next stage of sustainable tourism, as it is often described—it is a different mindset. Sustainability is an important concept for making developments measurable and for operating in a more future-proof way. But in my experience, it primarily speaks to the intellect, while regeneration touches the emotional experience more deeply.
For me, regeneration is a fundamental attitude. From this perspective, even classical sustainability measures gain strength because they are emotionally anchored. Real change happens where people feel an inner connection. Our thoughts and feelings shape our actions—and those actions, in turn, shape the world.
Often we try to solve isolated problems – regeneration listens into the systems to find the root causes
At the moment, I observe that many tourism professionals are trying to further optimize their organizations. This reflects the way we have learned to think. At the same time, external challenges are increasing—such as climate change or rapid technological transformation. Our intuitive reaction is often to respond with even better solutions.
Regeneration opens up a different perspective. It thinks systemically and looks for relationships and potential, rather than just solving isolated problems. It is less about finding quick answers and more about listening more deeply—and allowing new pathways to emerge from that.
Listening, therefore, becomes a core regenerative capability. We enter into genuine dialogue with all those who are part of our system—with people, places, and their interconnections. In doing so, we expand our perspectives and create the foundation for something new. The opposite of this is discussion, where we try to convince others of our point of view and often end up defending the familiar.
At their core, the two stories from the beginning are regenerative precisely because they emerged from such listening.
What is the highest potential of tourism to shape our joint future?
The question that moves me most is what potential tourism holds to positively shape our future—for hosts, guests, and nature alike. The examples I am currently experiencing and helping to shape give me hope and serve as a strong source of motivation. They show that a form of tourism is possible that not only does less harm, but actively contributes to making places more alive.
The two stories from the beginning are essentially regenerative precisely because they emerged from this kind of listening. And listening was also a central theme of this meeting within our EU project. We are currently developing such new tourism products in five EU countries (Sweden, Denmark, Lithuania, Poland, and Germany), and this time we met in Szczecin and Usedom to jointly test and further develop five of these new experiences.
All products are based on these five regenerative principles, which for us are not set in stone but can evolve just as our mindset does:
• Community: Does the community take a leading role or actively co-create the experience, rather than merely being “involved”?
• Partnership: Are at least two local partners actively collaborating in delivering the experience?
• Carrying Capacity: Does the experience respect the ecological and social limits of the place?
• Positive Value Creation: Does it create at least one new tangible value for the place (social, ecological, or economic)?
• Mutual Trust: Does the interaction foster genuine self-determination for hosts and strengthen mutual trust?
My personal and favoured role
My personal role in this project is that of a “regeneration coach”—that’s how I would describe it in my own words. I ensure and support the lead partner, Visit Skåne, with my role as Quality Lead Service, in meaningfully applying these new regenerative principles so that the project and all participants can develop this new mindset. Every six months, I conduct interviews with the responsible representatives of the six participating regional organizations (DMOs), because a shift in mindset is first felt qualitatively before it translates into measurable results.
Even now, I am impressed by how much this new mindset is changing things—not only the way these regions develop products. This is another exciting outcome of the project and of a regenerative approach, because fundamentally it calls into question the role of regional tourism organisations (DMOs). While in many German regions I currently work with, the connection to local tourism actors like hotels is weakening, here we see the opposite trend. Close collaboration and co-creation of new products lead to an entirely new form of cooperation and proximity. This strengthens resilience and builds a new level of trust that challenges of any kind can be overcome together.
The question that moves me most is the potential tourism has to positively shape our future for the benefit of all involved—hosts, guests, and nature. The examples I experience and help shape in this project give me hope and are a strong source of motivation. They show that a form of tourism is possible that not only causes less harm but actively contributes to making places, tourism organisations, and stakeholders more vibrant.
Tourism organisations that are part of this EU ReTour project:
If you want to know more about regenerative tourism, join our EU regenerative tourism community (just send a mail to a.koch@tourythm.com).
