A step towards a book-able regenerative tourism experience: insights from our partners from Denmark
Kim Worrmann Jensen
“It [Regenerative Tourism] gives us DMOs concrete measures to engage with companies. We can participate kind of WITH them in developing tourism.”
Kim Worrmann Jensen is the Project Coordinator for Sustainability and Product Development at Destination Trekantomradet in Denmark. He joined the NorReg project together with his colleague Peter Moller from DKNT (Dansk Kyst- og Naturturisme) after getting to know us at the Nordic Regenerative Tourism Conference in Malmö in 2022. Regenerative Tourism has already been a focus for Destination Trekantomradet, and they saw a great opportunity in NorReg to collaborate and strengthen their regenerative tourism journey.
“Regenerative tourism as a strategic tool gives us a voice to influence and be a co-designer in tourism.”
One of their most recent regenerative tourism initiatives is a pilot project aimed at commercializing regenerative actions in tourism. In a conversation with Kim, he shared how Destination Trekantomradet identified environmental challenges in their area and invited visitors to help solve these. For example, one day of this program was dedicated to tackling the overpopulation of beach crabs in the Nature Park, which no longer have natural enemies in this region. The regenerative component involved inviting a guided visitor group to catch these crabs and learn how to use them to prepare a delicious dinner. Kim described this initiative as pure fun, and when asked about people's feedback, he said participants were very surprised after starting the project. It was hard for them to imagine what it means in practice “to be regenerative” and “to do good for the area.” The interest in this pilot project was huge, and the participants were eager to do something beneficial for the area while gaining valuable and fun experiences. Most of them stated that the game-changer for them was actually doing something themselves; participating actively instead of being spectators.
“The interest is very big, especially the possibility to give something back to the place.”
Another part of this pilot program was dedicated to increasing underwater biodiversity by planting eelgrass in the National Park. The lack of underwater vegetation often results in small fish not finding hiding spots, making them vulnerable to larger fish that see them as prey. By planting eelgrass, the project aimed to create safe habitats for small fish and, hence, support biodiversity.
“It [Regenerative Tourism] is almost the perfect strategic tool for doing tourism in a more sustainable way.”
So far, this pilot project was only carried out in May 2024, but Kim shared their plans to make this offer bookable in the future. The main challenges they are facing relate to private-public relationships and legal permissions to commercialize programs on municipality-owned areas.
“It [Regenerative Tourism] gives us DMOs concrete measures to engage with companies. We can participate kind of WITH them in developing tourism.”
For those interested: Kim will be the keynote speaker at the NorReg Masterclass on October 16th. Registration for that event will open soon at www.norreg.is/
More information about the pilot project can further be found here: https://www.destinationtrekantomraadet.com/node/1262
