Regenerative tourism
by design
Regenerative tourism
by design
OUR TEAM
OUR TEAM
The Tourism CoLab
Who we are
Ready to flip the script on traditional tourism? Welcome to The Tourism CoLab – where we're not just thinking outside the box, we're completely redesigning it.
We're the rebels of the tourism world. We are an education, coaching and capacity building agency with the courage to speak up and lean into the change ahead. We know that we cannot continue on a trajectory that focuses on growth and profit at the expense of community, place and nature. To regenerate what we have lost, and to repair our broken systems is our duty to future generations. It requires that we connect with community, embrace creativity thinking, and rebuild our relationship with nature.
We might have been in this game for a long time, but we not the experts. You are. We bring our creative juices and interdisciplinary understanding to your lived experience and local knowledge. We want to journey with communities to co-create actions that meet communities, organisations and businesses where they are at.
We are a collective of industry veterans and fresh-thinking innovators joining forces to weave a kinder and more holistic place-based approach where hosting and visiting is a tool to create stronger and more resilient communities, economies and ecologies.
What we are not
We're not another consultancy or marketing agency maintaining the status quo. We don't tend to respond to briefs because they restrict us to old thinking. (We will, of course, help you write them to unleash the real potential of place though!) We're not here to prop up extractive business models or old system ways. We're not interested in template solutions or top-down approaches. We're not afraid to challenge the conventional wisdom that has brought us to this point. We are not afraid of being different and gettng to the heart of the matter...
Forget dusty textbooks and tired consulting models. We're a social enterprise that brings together the dreamers, the doers, and the disruptors. Our secret sauce? Mixing lived experience and community intelligence with thought leadership and new thinking to cook up something entirely new in the world of placed-based, community-powered hosting and connecting with place.
What makes us different?
“How can we bring our social, ecological and political systems in line with what nature and communities need to regenerate?"
Andrew Keast,
Guest Speaker, Regenerative Tourism x Design Summit 2024
Our superpower
We're mindful matchmakers connecting dots you didn't even know existed. By bringing together wildly different perspectives and global know-how, we spark the kind of analytical-creative genius that turns "what if?" into "what's respectful and in harmony with this place?"
Think of us as your companions and weavers – equipping you with the tools, knowledge, and confidence to find genuine, respectful and community-led ways of hosting and experiencing place.
Ready to join the transition? Let's rewrite the rules, open the possibilities, reframe how we work for the good of people and nature together!
Our Why
Tourism doesn't have to be an extractive industry. We believe that travelling and hosting can deepen our sense of purpose, sharpen our responsibility to care for what we value, and transform how we relate to nature, community, and culture.
Our mission is to work with the pioneer species—the places, businesses, organizations, and communities—that see, feel, and seek new knowledge and ways of navigating the transition ahead. We aim to:
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Transform places
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Respect and elevate local knowledge
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Empower communities
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Co-create innovative solutions
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Regenerate social, ecological, and natural systems that have been depleted
We're working at the level of systems change to reinvent a kinder form of travelling and hosting for the planet. Our impact is measured in shifted mindsets, transformed communities, and regenerated ecosystems.
Join us in redesigning the hosting and experiencing of places from a genuine community driven lens and a regenerative future. At Tourism CoLab, there's a place to belong in your change-making journey, whether you're a local innovator, a community leader, or a global changemaker.