Sustainable vs Regenerative vs EcoTourism: debunking the buzzwords
by guest blogger Helen Collier of Just Words
Is ‘sustainability in tourism’ real, or simply a box-ticking buzzword?
Language, like life itself, is constantly changing but I’m noticing an increasing number of buzz words that simply describe the way things were or should be. Take the word tourism for example – it’s now rarely used on its own, it’s more likely to have a prefix – sustainable, regenerative, ethical or responsible, even green. Due to the rise of these terms, and add to them ecotourism, and conscious traveller, and tourism operators are now urged to describe themselves as ‘sustainable’, and dedicate pages on their websites with box-ticking statements about the eco-friendly type of soap they use.
So, is sustainable tourism something more meaningful?
A cynic might suggest all this talk of sustainable practices is purely to box-tick and for SEO purposes. But type the phrase ‘sustainable tourism’ into google, and the 3 P’s or 5 pillars of sustainable tourism flash up on your screen. As does accreditation. You can do a BA in Tourism/Ecotourism and a Masters in Sustainable Tourism Development.
And those courses teach that today’s conscious travelers are actively seeking to travel sustainably and want experiences and places to stay that demonstrate social and environmental responsibility. So tourism operators have to sing their sustainable practices from the rooftops, in order to attract this customer.
But for businesses for whom the environment has always been their raison d’être and central to their every decision – being sustainable and regenerative is not a box-ticking exercise nor about accreditation. It is more importantly an authentic way of life.
Wombat Bend – the Embodiment of Regenerative Tourism
I’ve worked with hundreds of highly capable and ethical tourism operators in the Yarra Valley, but only one couple had the specialist knowledge to create a sustainable native habitat from an overgrazed cow paddock with the poorest of soil. Sue Forrester & Bill Molyneux were the architects of that dream and they created it from a barren 5-acre paddock they purchased in Dixons Creek in 1978. Without trees, water, birds or wildlife it was a soulless block – and exactly what they’d been hoping to find! Armed with their vision they set about planting and landscaping, building and nurturing, and created Wombat Bend, a life-supporting sanctuary for flora, fauna, and their lucky B&B guests.
When buzzwords should be used…
Ironically, many an annoying buzzword can be applied to Wombat Bend, because it genuinely IS a glorious example of rewilding, and Sue and Bill ARE authentic custodians. They grew up reusing and recycling before it became repurposing! They’ve grown vegetables and composted scraps since they were children, not because it became trendy or the council provided them with a bin; it was their way of life.
Sue & Bill – The real deal
Their botanical and horticultural knowledge began in early childhood; Sue’s family lived at Bickleigh Vale (Mooroolbark, Victoria) and her mother worked with landscape gardener Edna Walling for a decade. Sue and Bill would go on to establish Australia’s leading all-native plant nursery Austraflora, at a time when most Australians were still planting European-style gardens. Their specialist knowledge of Australian natives is evident all around the property and can be found in papers they have authored on Acacia, Banksia, Callistemon, Grevillea, Hakea & Eucalyptus. And every day they toil at Wombat Bend, maintaining the landscape that guests get to appreciate, and chat and share their knowledge with kindred souls. They even offer their guests the chance to go night spotting to see endangered greater gliders in the nearby Yarra Ranges National Park. It was an obvious fit for their wildlife loving guests. What they offer is ecotourism on steroids!!
Guests come to Wombat Bend for many a reason: to write (it’s earned a fantastic reputation as the perfect writer’s retreat, especially as there is a catered option; to explore the Yarra Valley; celebrate a special occasion; or simply to get away for some restorative peace and quiet by a billabong. Without fail, all who stay are struck by how ‘right’ the landscape Sue & Bill have created feels, and cannot comprehend they are staying on and looking out over that same overgrazed paddock – now a permanent habitat for over 100 species of native birds, together with possums, gliders, echidnas, bats and of course wombats, not to mention insects, frogs & fish.
Suffice to say, whatever form of tourism you’re analysing, be it sustainable, regenerative or ecotourism, Wombat Bend is a genuine example of all three combined. Tina O’Dwyer of The Tourism Space interprets sustainable tourism ‘to mean ‘doing less harm’. Regenerative tourism is in the space of ‘doing more good’ and going beyond that ‘to leaving a place better than we found it.”
Something tells me Tina would appreciate Sue and Bill and the ‘Sanctuary for Life’ they have created at Wombat Bend.
