How regenerative science could change the nature of tourism
Environmental science is empowering the travel industry to do better by both people and planet, immersing visitors in regenerative strategies that protect the places they visit
Scientific research has long shaped the way we live, work, consume and communicate. Now it might just transform the way many of us travel. This growing sector is blossoming with a new range of experiences, driven by conservation science. These include tourist attractions that give guests the opportunity to help protect and enhance local ecosystems, as well as offering expeditions where participants can shadow scientific researchers.
Back to nature
Nature-based tourism can be found in destinations as diverse as Iceland and Portugal’s Algarve. Visitors flock to the Algarve for educational tours on the variety of native flora and fauna. But the example of Iceland shows how broad-based this interest is: perhaps surprisingly, it is the country’s geothermal and hydroelectric power plants that have fuelled interest among travellers, with these sites named as some of the country’s most popular destinations. Visitors are fascinated by the clean-energy solutions that have led Iceland out of dependency on fossil fuels.
As consumers become increasingly climate-conscious, they expect that the businesses bringing them closer to the natural world are doing so in a sustainable way. Some operators go a step further than sustainable tourism, ensuring that their work actively delivers improvements in biodiversity, an approach known as regenerative tourism.
An example of this regenerative thinking can be seen in Saudi Arabia, in the work of Red Sea Global (RSG), which is using environmental science to develop its vision for regenerative tourism at its first destination, The Red Sea, opening in 2023.
Supporting marine ecosystems
Critical to the creation of this vision has been research in marine spatial planning, a process that seeks to better manage ocean spaces by balancing ecological, social and economic objectives. Work with institutions including King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) has influenced key developmental decisions that protect local biodiversity, such as deciding only to develop 25 of the 90 or more islands in The Red Sea’s species-rich Al Wajh lagoon.
“We are changing the perception that coastal development and marine conservation are contradictory endeavours,” says Dr Lina Eyouni, RSG’s Marine Planning and Monitoring Manager. “Our ongoing monitoring efforts provide an up-to-date picture of the health of our marine environments, helping us learn more about how to support them.”
As Research Chair in Red Sea Ecology at KAUST, Professor Carlos Duarte was actively involved in the marine spatial planning exercise and was impressed by the science-led approach taken. “This project is an example of RSG’s eagerness to bring on board experts, enabling them to take heed of the science that shows the way forward for regenerative development,” says Duarte.
In another science-driven initiative, RSG recently concluded a large scale, 11-month environmental baseline survey to assess and mitigate the development’s impact on ecosystems. This is the key means by which the developer holds itself accountable to its stated regenerative goal of delivering a 30 per cent net conservation benefit to its two tourism destinations, The Red Sea and Amaala, by 2040.
“Our environmental baseline survey, as its name suggests, is the foundation of our regenerative approach to the destination,” says Dr Ivor Williams, RSG’s Marine Planning and Monitoring Director. “It has been vital for identifying environmentally sensitive areas – for instance, hotspots for high-priority species such as sea turtles, dolphin and dugong, where we must carefully manage anything that might disturb them at critical periods in their life cycles.”
Creating immersive experiences
Functioning both as a scientific research centre and tourist destination, the Marine Life Institute at the Amaala resort will also house a manmade reef measuring 40m by 10m. Guests will be able to join lab tours, diving activities and augmented reality experiences, blending education with adventure.
“Tourism and scientific research are not traditional bedfellows, but we are bridging the gap between them,” says Dr Omar Al-Attas, RSG’s Head of Environmental Protection and Regeneration.
Science-led regenerative tourism is becoming increasingly important for the global travel industry. This is just as well, as it will take nothing less than this to repair tourism’s traditionally problematic relationship with the natural environment.
