Tourist Behavior from a Regenerative Tourism Perspective
Chapter from the book:
Kırcı Çevik,
N.
&
Buğan,
M.
F.
(eds.)
2025.
Theory, Research and Debates in Social Sciences - 4.
Synopsis
In recent years, increasing criticism of the environmental, social, and cultural impacts of tourism has made the limitations of the sustainability approach more visible. In particular, the climate crisis, biodiversity loss, and social erosion in destinations demonstrate that considering tourism solely as an activity that mitigates harm is insufficient. In this context, the developing regenerative tourism approach redefines tourism as a transformative space that actively repairs, regenerates, and strengthens nature and society. However, the practical application of this approach is possible not only through business models or destination management strategies, but also through understanding a new tourist profile that makes this system possible. This section goes beyond the commonly used responsible and ethical tourist approaches in the sustainable tourism literature and examines the concept of the regenerative tourist, where the tourist becomes an active actor contributing to the ecological and social well-being of destinations. Furthermore, it explores how the role of the regenerative tourist in the tourism system is redefined, their value orientations, their relationship with nature, their participatory ethical understanding, and their systemic awareness. In conclusion, this chapter addresses regenerative tourism not merely as a new tourism approach, but as a holistic paradigm requiring a rethinking of the human-nature-society relationship; it aims to reveal the central role of the regenerative tourist in this transformation.
