Tourism as a Catalyst for Regeneration: Identifying Enablers and Overcoming Challenges

The contemporary world is experiencing profound transformations across political, economic, social, technological, and environmental domains that impact the overall tourism industry and influence the designing of tourism products and services. It is becoming clear that these changes highlight the need for new tourism development paradigms, with regeneration emerging as a key approach. This paradigm promotes holistic, place-based development, aligning economic activities with long-term renewal of ecosystems, and well-being goals. Tourism, with its systemic nature, can significantly contribute to the global regeneration of territories. In this context, food and food tourism play a crucial role, as every destination has unique gastronomic traditions offering that withhold the potential of offering meaningful experiences building on local culture. This study examines the potential of tourism as a catalyst for regeneration, identifying enabling factors and challenges within the inclusion of small local food producers into the tourism ecosystem through the creation of new business models based on regenerative practices. Using qualitative methodology, 23 case studies were analysed. Findings unveil that economic and social enablers are crucial for regeneration through tourism. The regeneration of economic activities through tourism, or the connection between visitors and locals stand out as an important factor. Primary challenges include financial constraints, regulatory hurdles, obstacles to collaboration, and knowledge gaps about regeneration or regenerative tourism. The study proposes a conceptual framework outlining the drivers, enablers, and barriers to implementing regenerative tourism practices in locally based food tourism. This framework is a foundation for future research and offers practical applications, ultimately contributing to territorial regeneration through tourism.