Regenerative Creative Tourism and Community Revitalization

As the global tourism industry attempts to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, small-scale, community-based regenerative tourism is bringing a creative transformation to declining neighborhoods and areas struggling to attract visitors. This case study focuses on a tour project that aims at regenerating a degraded suburban landscape in Hiroshima, Japan, and turning it into a location for Creative Tourism in cooperation with the local community. The study connects Regenerative Tourism and Creative Tourism, revealing that creative tourism serves as a catalyst for community revitalization. The research methods involve participant observation, interviews with tour operators and tourists, and secondary data analysis, with thematic analysis revealing insights into sustainable tourism, community engagement, and the company’s efforts to preserve and promote local culture and nature. The case study suggests that the growing demand emerging after the pandemic also creates new opportunities for transformation through small-scale regenerative and Creative Tourism that is respectful of local culture and creates revitalization opportunities with residents. The growing demand emerging after the pandemic also creates new opportunities and transformation through small-scale regenerative and Creative Tourism that is respectful of local culture and creates revitalization opportunities with residents. The study argues that the combination of Creative Tourism and a regenerative framework results in a mutually beneficial relationship. Although regenerative creative tourism products are more difficult to design and manage, it is a more responsible approach. This case shows that Regenerative Creative Tourism promotes local well-being and long-term sustainability, emphasizing the necessity of a holistic, creative, and regenerative approach in the changing global tourism landscape, especially for community and environmental regeneration.