Regenerative Tourism through the UNESCO Global Geoparks Network

From 8–12 September 2025, representatives from GeoCamp Iceland and Reykjanes UNESCO Global Geopark participated in the 11th International Conference on UNESCO Global Geoparks (GGN 2025), held in Temuco, Chile. Hosted by Kütralkura UNESCO Global Geopark, the conference brought together geopark professionals, researchers, educators, and policy representatives from across the global network under the theme “From Ancestral Knowledge towards Future Geoparks: Technologies and Digital Innovation for Sustainable Development.”

For GeoCamp Iceland and its partners, GGN 2025 provided an important international platform to present and disseminate REGENERATE – Regenerative Tourism for Resilient Communities and Natural Heritage, an Interreg Northern Periphery and Arctic (NPA) cooperation project led by Visit Reykjanes.

The REGENERATE Project

REGENERATE addresses a shared challenge across the Northern Periphery and Arctic region: how to balance the economic importance of tourism with increasing pressure on sensitive natural environments, local communities, and cultural heritage. Rather than focusing solely on impact reduction, the project promotes a regenerative tourism approach, aiming to ensure that tourism actively contributes to ecological restoration, community resilience, and cultural continuity.

The project is led by Visit Reykjanes (Iceland) and brings together partners from Iceland, Finland, Sweden, and Ireland, including GeoCamp Iceland, Karelia University of Applied Sciences, Olemisen Balanssia ry, Gold of Lapland, and Cuilcagh Lakelands UNESCO Global Geopark. Over its three-year duration (2025–2028), REGENERATE will develop a shared regenerative tourism model, establish four pilot regenerative travel hubs, and deliver capacity-building tools for public authorities, SMEs, and destination management organisations.

Presenting REGENERATE at GGN 2025

At GGN 2025, REGENERATE was presented through a dedicated poster and direct engagement with conference participants. The presentation outlined the project’s objectives, partnership structure, and key outputs, with particular emphasis on the pilot hubs and the role of public–private cooperation in implementing regenerative practices at destination level.

The response from the international geopark community was strongly positive. Many geoparks face similar challenges related to visitor pressure, climate vulnerability, depopulation, and the need to align tourism more closely with education, conservation, and community development. The REGENERATE framework was widely recognised as a practical and transferable approach that could be adapted to different territorial, cultural, and governance contexts.

GGN as a Dissemination and Learning Platform

The UNESCO Global Geoparks Network plays a critical role as a dissemination channel for initiatives such as REGENERATE. Unlike conventional tourism forums, GGN conferences bring together territories that already operate at the intersection of geoconservation, education, and sustainable development. This makes the network particularly well suited for testing, refining, and scaling regenerative tourism approaches.

Discussions at GGN 2025 demonstrated strong interest from geoparks beyond the NPA region, including representatives from Latin America, Southern Europe, and Asia. These exchanges reinforced the project’s ambition to contribute not only to regional development in the North, but also to wider international dialogue on the future role of geoparks in shaping responsible and regenerative tourism.

The Role of GeoCamp Iceland

GeoCamp Iceland contributes to REGENERATE by linking regenerative tourism with education, outdoor learning, and science communication. Through field-based learning, teacher training, and international study programmes, GeoCamp supports the integration of regenerative principles into both visitor experiences and local capacity-building efforts.

At GGN 2025, this educational perspective was highlighted as a key strength of the project. Many geoparks expressed interest in strengthening the educational dimension of tourism development, particularly as a way to influence long-term behavioural change among visitors and to engage young people and future professionals.

Conclusions and Next Steps

Participation in GGN 2025 confirmed the relevance of the REGENERATE project within the global geopark context. The conference provided a valuable opportunity to disseminate project objectives, exchange experiences with other geoparks, and explore pathways for future collaboration and replication.

As REGENERATE moves into its implementation phase, continued engagement with the UNESCO Global Geoparks Network will remain an important element of its dissemination strategy. By sharing models, tools, and lessons learned, the project aims to support geoparks worldwide in strengthening tourism as a positive force for environmental regeneration, cultural heritage, and community resilience.

REGENERATE: A Northern Periphery and Arctic programme initiative led from Reykjanes, showcasing regenerative tourism practices developed with partners from Finland, Sweden, and Ireland [Poster]