Co-creating regenerative & conscious destination futures – workshop

Join us for a one-day, interactive workshop exploring the regenerative shift shaping the future of the UK tourism sector: co-creating regenerative and conscious destination futures, the inaugural workshop of the ATHE Southern Tourism Academic Network (STAN).

Hosted at the University of Greenwich (Maritime Greenwich campus, London), this inaugural STAN event brings together academia and industry to co-create more conscious, community-centred destination futures. Delivered by the University of Greenwich Tourism & Marketing Research Centre in partnership with the Association for Tourism in Higher Education (ATHE), the workshop offers a collaborative space for those shaping the next era of travel: moving beyond sustainability towards truly regenerative tourism practice. This full-day, interactive workshop invites destination marketers, managers, practitioners, tourism consultants, researchers and students to collectively explore the possibilities of regenerative pathways and discuss challenges facing the sector of adopting regenerative practices.

Together, we will:

• Move beyond traditional sustainability models to explore regenerative tourism
• Co-design visitor economies with and for communities and businesses
• Examine how destinations can be left better than they were found
• Bridge the gap between higher education and industry practice
• Engage in "future-making" through dialogue, reflection, and collaboration
• Discuss how to develop a high-value, future-ready workforce for conscious destination management

Throughout the day, participants will:

• Hear inspiring keynote talks from industry leaders on transforming crisis into regenerative mindset shifts
• Engage with reflections from practitioners and academics, building a shared, holistic understanding of regenerative destinations
• Learn from a bespoke co-design case study
• Hear future voices of tourism, with insights from students shaping the next generation of the sector

Agenda:

• Keynote - Pete Waters MBE, Executive Director of Visit East of England: Crisis to Regeneration, Naturally
• Panel discussion - Moderator A/Prof Wenjie Cai
  • Deborah Brooks - Tourism Consultant & Development Advisor
  • Mary Harris - Founder of Bird Global Advisory & Global Place Brand Expert
  • A/Prof Maria Gebbels - University of Greenwich
  • Meg Strahle - Sustainability advisor @ The Bulb
  • A/Prof Jonathan Skinner - University of Surrey
• Dr Lauren Siegel: Social media-induced tourism: local impacts and management strategies for regenerative destinations
• Dr Wenjie Cai, Dr Isabella Ye, Dr Hai Nguyen, Dr Nikki MacLeod: Breck’s regenerative tourism project showcase
• Dr Peter Robinson, Leeds Beckett University: Envisioning regenerative tourism education in developing a high-value workforce
• Pass the Mic - Young voices on regenerative destination futures