About the project

NorReg is a project funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers, and led by the Iceland Tourism Cluster on behalf of the Icelandic Ministry for Business and Cultural Affairs. It is aimed at developing and providing relevant, interesting, and accessible tools for small and micro-sized tourism operators in destinations in the Nordic countries. The project started in 2022 and is in its third and final year of development.

The objective of the project is to establish operational tools for businesses seeking to adopt relevant, accessible, measurable, and participatory practices that visibly contribute to the regeneration of natural and cultural resources within their destination, for residents and visitors alike. We focus on SMiE’s(Small and Microsized Businesses), rather than SME’s (Small and Medium Sized Businesses), in line with the realities of tourism in our participating regions.

The ambitions of the project call for an emphasis on the deliverables being both relevant and realistic. That entails setting the stage for the true development and evaluation of sustainable, regenerative tourism while acknowledging that the ambitions embedded therein call for constant re-targetting and development of the initiative’s scope and ambitions in years to come.

The ultimate goal is to develop and test methods that will ensure that businesses all across the Nordics can incorporate regenerative tourism as a baseline in their business models. Through this, the DMO’s are empowered to plan strategies and policies where tourism is embedded within the societal structure, functioning for the greater good of local communities and the environment.

To achieve this, we have defined four focus areas:

  • First Mile initiatives for SMiE operations

  • Participatory Citizen Science projects for visitors

  • Adapting and defining evaluation methods for a new definition of tourism success

  • Policy support for national, regional, and local government

NorReg supports long-term planning and policies and focusses on the wish of guests traveling to the regions for more purpose-driven visits.  

PROJECTS

PRIORITIES

  • Local

    In our vision, regenerative tourism contributes to authentically preserving traditions and local culture. We want communities to be both, attractive homes for locals, and inspiring experiences for visitors.

    Participation/Involvement

    Our communities offer room for active participation and involvement. Local collaborations and networks are accessible and transparent. Through the active inclusion of visitors into the community, locals and visitors interact on various levels. The demographic diversity in our communities enables network formations on business and individual levels.

  • Balance

    Healthy ecosystems require balance. By converting our energy consumption into green energy use, consulting experts and scientists to reclaim our biodiversity, and targeted, knowledge- and place-based citizen science projects we contribute to revitalizing natural attractions, landscapes, and ecosystems.

    Diversity

    To help our nature renew itself, we build on awareness, local initiatives, and feeling of responsibility. In our vision of regenerative tourism, the particular local communities feel both aware and responsible for the interplay between them and nature. By increasing the local knowledge of and pride in nature and landscape, we aim at preventing shortsighted growth-oriented development and loss of biodiversity.

  • Holistic

    Regenerative tourism contributes to establishing a holistic business ecosystem, where businesses support each other locally. We especially focus on the development of local services and infrastructure from which both locals and tourists benefit. A holistic business ecosystem contributes to overcoming the effects of seasonality and empowers locals to operate all year around.

    Revitalizing (quality, creative)

    The concept of regenerative tourism implies local as default. Our task hereby is to communicate the value and awaken the awareness of local value to both the local community and the tourists in a creative way.

    In our vision, entering the regenerative tourism business scene is accessible to every local who is interested and can start small-scaled. We especially focus on the development of local services and infrastructure from which both locals and tourists benefit.

    Through focused product development business contributes to community revitalization.

Photo Credit - Banner Image: Roman Huber