Green sprouts of hope in the regeneration question

Starting from her own skepticism, Dr Natasha Montesalvo explores where regenerative tourism is already moving from rhetoric to reality, highlighting destinations and hotels that build regeneration into governance, design, and operations from day one. Through examples like Red Sea Global, Capella Ubud, Maroma and TTNQ’s Reforest partnership, she shows that measurable positive impact on ecosystems and communities is possible – but only when...

Natasha Montesalvo

To be honest, when I first started exploring regenerative tourism, I was a non-believer. How, in a system that traditionally champions visitor numbers and growth over all else, can we promote outcomes that leave the world better than we found it?

EarthCheck’s White Paper defines regenerative tourism as a step beyond sustainability -a process where the tourism sector stakeholders, collectively, exert care and guardianship (through decision-making and practices) for the improvement and enhancement of natural, human and human-made [built] elements when moving to, visiting, living or operating in a destination. In so doing, it would allow the above elements to exceed their current survivability conditions.

Read the full article on hotelyearbook.com

The Hotel Yearbook 2026 - Sustainability Edition

The HYB 2026 The Regenerative Question: What Hospitality Must Become tackles regenerative hospitality's fundamental tensions. Moving beyond sustainability buzzwords, contributors will explore three perspectives: purists advocating holistic living-systems approaches; realists demanding measurable frameworks for accountability and scalability; and strategists seeking pragmatic balance between transformation and implementation. This edition serves as a critical forum to interrogate the divides, identify synergies, and define actionable pathways forward. By convening industry experts, researchers, and entrepreneurs, we transform contested concepts into constructive dialogue and, ultimately, clarifying what regenerative hospitality authentically is and isn't.

Dr Natasha Montesalvo is the Director of Research and Policy at the EarthCheck Research Institute and Principal Consultant – Destinations, Strategy and Insights with EarthCheck, the world leading scientific benchmarking and advisory company for travel and tourism.

EarthCheck is the world’s leading scientific benchmarking, certification and advisory group for travel and tourism. Since 1987, we have helped businesses, communities and governments to deliver clean, safe, prosperous and healthy destinations for travellers to visit, live, work and play. We understand the value of big ideas and the importance of clear communication. We know that what can be good for the planet is also good for business.