Meet Dr Francesc Fusté-Forné: A Spanish Researcher Leadingthe Way in Regenerative Tourism for the Arctic

Francesc Fusté-Forné is a key member of the NorReg academic group and has joined the project from the very beginning. He brings a unique blend of academic expertise in tourism and communication. With two PhDs—one in Tourism from the University of Girona and another in Communication from Ramon Llull University—he explores the intersections of food, heritage, and tourism. His research delves into the authentic connections between food traditions, regional identity, landscapes, and tourism experiences. 

Francesc's journey into regenerative tourism began with a collaboration with Asif Hussain, his colleague of the Sustainability and Resilience Institute New Zealand. 

“Regenerative tourism is not a type of tourism, it is an understanding of the tourism system which must put local people, places and practices at the front of tourism planning and development”

After Francesc was introduced to the NorReg project during a research stay at Aalborg University in Copenhagen. Now an affiliated member of CIRCLA (Centre for Innovation and Research in Culture and Living in the Arctic), he joined the NorReg project and contributed with his presentation “Paradoxes for Regenerative Food in Tourism Management and Marketing”, at the NorReg conference “Nordic Regenerative Tourism for a Better Tomorrow” Malmö in November 2022. 

Francesc sees regenerative tourism as an approach that tourism goes beyond being just a type of tourism. To him, it is a perspective on the entire tourism system, where local people, places, and practices are central to every stage of planning and development.
In regenerative tourism, management and marketing prioritize a network of connections—between humans and nature—that collectively foster conscious and responsible travel experiences, protecting and enhancing the unique actors of each destination.

In order to actually work towards a “better tomorrow”, Francesc sees the key in research and gaining more knowledge along with all the stakeholder involved in this process. 

“We need to do it hand in hand with the local actors which and who provide indigenous context and knowledge.”

Francesc sees this as an essential next step in order to achieve a theoretical and practical foundation of regenerative tourism.