Regenerative tourism
by design
Regenerative tourism
by design
OUR TEAM
OUR TEAM
The
Tourism
CoLab
Regenerative business and community development that values place, people and nature
ABOUT
About the CoLab
The Tourism CoLab is a collective of regenerative development and tourism practitioners - teachers, mentors, innovators and change agents with decades of experience working in cultural change, regenerative place design and genuine community conversations. For 30 years we have pioneered deep community engagement methodologies, regenerative storytelling journeys, regenerative business development, and an ecological approach to leadership. Fiercely independent, we operate at the intersection of tourism, community and place, guided by a deep commitment to grounded transformation of people and place.
The Founder and Director of the Tourism CoLab and Place Ecologies is Dr Dianne Dredge. Learn more about her vision, values, and the experience she brings to CoLab work here.
What We Do
Holistic place-based and community-led actions that build resilience and readiness for change in SIX key areas:
Our Community of Practice
This is more than just another online space – this is a global community of practice for everyone who believes that tourism can be a force for regeneration, connection, and positive change in our world.
Whether you're a seasoned practitioner, a curious newcomer, or someone who's been quietly questioning how we can do tourism differently, you belong here.
CASE STUDY
Regenerative Living Lab
FLINDERS ISLAND, TASMANIA
Islands are natural laboratories that provide important insights into the nature of systemic change and opportunities for bioregional innovation.
Triggered by a perception that overtourism would bring irreparable damage to the Island, its environment and way of life, The Islander Way commenced as a 2-year project, in September 2021. In 2025, it received an additional funding for 3 years to activate a place based community-led approach to tourism and future flourishing.
Why is being independent
important?
Space for creative action
Now more than ever, we need to think in curious, creative and innovative ways so that we can learn and adapt to new, emerging, and quite possibly, unanticipated conditions. The CoLab is always seeking to reach 'outside the box', think in curious and connected ways, and work in the gaps.
We can't solve the challenges of the future with yesterday's thinking
Tourism policies and institutions insist on making us reach for goals that were relevant in decades past but will be less and less relevant in the future. We are moving into an uncertain future with tools and thinking built from 20th century goals. The CoLab is always developing new skills and experimenting with new ways of thinking.
The power for ecological systems thinking
The metacrisis is the confluence of many different drivers of change, all joining force in unpredictable and ever-changing ways. We need to think and make sense of our world through different lenses and move beyond working in silos. The CoLab takes you on a learning journey through shared stories, communing and learning together, building our readiness for the change ahead.
Cutting through the forest of tools and frameworks
We are increasingly finding coalitions of marketers, accreditation agencies, consultants, industry peak bodies and governments steering your thinking (and your budgets) towards their products and services. But are these the right products and services for a very different future--or is it just business-as-usual? Who really benefits from these 'solutions'? The Colab stays agnostic to 'the selling of solutions', deeply engaging and grounding in your place and your community. Your solution is bespoke.
Don't know where to start? Neither did we...
So we decided to stop trying to be the 'sage on the stage', we stopped trying to convince blank, uninterested stares, and we rolled up our sleeves. We became the guide on the side, the weavers, and the activists. We have achieved a lot, but there is a long way to go... We have insights to share and stories to tell.
Be part of the conversation reshaping tourism for a regenerative future. Our newsletter connects changemakers, practitioners, community leaders, business owners, policymakers and visionaries who are reimagining travel —moving beyond extraction towards regeneration, beyond consumption towards contribution.