Regenerative is a term we're likely to be hearing a lot in the future. What it means as it applies to tourism will be the subject of a presentation this Thursday, May 27, by Bill Reed, an ecological architect, community planner, writer, educator, and principal of Regenesis Group, based on Massachusetts and New Mexico. The event, which is hosted by the Hudson Tourism Board and the Hudson Business Coalition, takes place at 5:00 p.m. on Zoom.
Hudson is a beautiful, diverse city of environmental and social complexity, and its essence includes its diversity. The Hudson Tourism Board's 2021 Mission Statement asserts that "tourism should support and benefit all Hudson residents and business owners." The Tourism Board is "committed to supporting the rich diversity that makes Hudson an attractive destination to visit and live," and aims "to facilitate approaches that are equitable, environmentally responsible, and create opportunities for all communities." These important commitments bring the Tourism Board into alignment with a concept that is developing globally called Regenerative Tourism. A recent New York Times article describes that Regenerative Tourism "addresses impacts holistically, from destination and community perspectives as well as environmental."
Regenerative tourism proposes that as an industry, tourism can bring positive change to a community in the form of visitors who arrive with an appreciation of cultural difference and bioregional specificity--what makes that place special. Tourism can be oriented toward a deep understanding and appreciation of what is culturally, ecologically, and socially existing in a place. Bill Reed is a writer and educator who has for more than thirty years been working to circulate and develop practices in communities that bring an "economy of meaning" along with raw economic benefit and job creation. These meanings are located in patterns of social and ecological use and relationship which can be harmonized to bring the greatest benefit to all.
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