Talking Tourism Episode 122 - Doing Good Through Regenerative Tourism with Emma Pethybridge

Talking Tourism

Emma Pethybridge is the Founder and CEO at Ethical Republic, a for-purpose company that supports the development of nature-based enterprises in and around protected areas. Emma grew up on the north-west coast of Tassie, and has worked throughout Australia, North America, the Asia-Pacific and the Middle East in sustainability, cultural and nature-based tourism, and conservation market development. She has worked with the Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation, Emirates Nature-WWF, the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre, Swisscontact Vietnam and Expo 2020 Dubai’s Sustainability Pavilion.

In today’s episode, Destination Southern Tasmania’s Alex Heroys chats with Emma about what led her to founding Ethical Republic, which looks to find sustainable, scalable, inclusive and creative ways of unlocking value for communities so both people and wild spaces can thrive.

Emma unpacks regenerative tourism, and how it takes the sustainable buzzword (at least) one positive step further. It’s about intent and a set of actions that aim to leave things better than we found them, including respecting ecological boundaries, uplifting host communities, and using business as a force for good by incorporating purpose into its DNA.
Emma also introduces her six dimensions of regenerative travel and tourism, and provides examples of how you can apply these principles to your business, no matter its size. While these shifts undoubtedly carry with them some investment of time, energy and finance, Emma explains how you can extract commercial value from your purpose by how - and to whom - you talk about what you’re doing.

Alex and Emma discuss the unique positive impact advantages available to Tasmanian tourism businesses through the state's existing wilderness values and cultural landscapes, as well as the opportunities to do better through promoting and partnering with the Aboriginal Tasmanian community to provide indigenous tourism experiences.
Ultimately, a regenerative tourism plateau doesn't look to be on the cards. With the positive impact agenda tipped to continue to grow exponentially as people become increasingly intentional about the way they travel, this is critical listening for tourism operators.

Today’s episode is brought to you by our partner, Tasmania Parks & Wildlife Service. PWS presents, protects and manages our Tasmania’s extraordinary landscapes in partnership with the community. They work to conserve the State’s natural and cultural heritage while providing for sustainable use and economic opportunities for the Tasmanian community. Thanks to Tasmania Parks & Wildlife Service for their generous support of TICT and for helping to make this episode of Talking Tourism possible.