A space to question the current tourism model and pave the way towards new ways of relating to territories.

On November 14 , Aethnic brought together more than 60 people at Ca l’Alier for the Conference “Towards regenerative tourism: rethinking the present, building the future” . A space for deep, honest and plural debate that put on the table the limits of the current tourism model and the emerging paths towards a regenerative model , capable of generating ecological, social and community vitality.

The Conference combined a high-impact inaugural conference with two complementary roundtables that offered institutional, community, academic perspectives and transformative practical experiences.

Inaugural conference: regeneration as a living and constantly evolving process

By Charles van der Kerkhof (Fjällgås Agency)

The inaugural conference positioned regeneration as a dynamic process that requires a profound rethinking of our relationship with the land and the systems that sustain it.

Some of the most prominent ideas were:

• Regeneration is not an end goal , but a living way of being in the world.
• The metaphor of “the fence” illustrated how today we protect nature from ourselves, and not the other way around.
• Human health and planetary health are indivisible , and tourism contributes significantly to the climate crisis.
• The iceberg model reminds us that, to transform tourism, it is necessary to act on the deep structures , not just on the symptoms.
• He warned about the shifting baseline syndrome , which normalizes degraded states of the environment and makes us lose perspective on what a healthy ecosystem should be.
• He claimed the need to rethink food systems , key in any regenerative transition.
• And he highlighted the role of regenerative leadership and intergenerational perspective as levers for making decisions that make sense over the next seven generations.

Round table 1 – “Tourism under pressure: challenges and tensions of the current model”

Moderated by Jesús Martín

This first table offered a clear and plural diagnosis of the tensions that run through the current tourism model.

Main ideas of the Table:

Xavier Font (General Subdirectorate of Territorial Tourism Development)

• Destinations are complex and intersectoral systems , which makes governance essential but also difficult.
• Public policies are shifting from growth to management of the phenomenon and increasingly incorporating the perspective of residents. For example, Catalonia’s strategic marketing plan focuses on the resident himself.

Eva Vilaseca (Catalan Assembly for Ecosocial Transition)

• The climate crisis, the pressure of aviation and the inequality of access to tourism demand a profound change in the model .
• No economic or political project will be successful if the ecological situation of the planet is not taken into account.

Ernest Cañada (Alba Sud)

• 33% of the population cannot access tourism. Holidays, in addition to leisure and recreation, should have the function of rest and personal development.
• Today, the focus of the discussion is not on the subject of tourism policy . This should be the majority of the population that cannot do tourism. We need to build proposals for the majority of the population.

José Antonio Donaire (Sustainable Tourism Commissioner of Barcelona City Council)

• Tourism generates labor inequalities, residential expulsion and tensions between the “front” (understood as the preservation of the resident’s quality of life and their identity) and the “back” (understood as the trivialization of spaces) of the city.
• In Barcelona , ​​measures are already being taken to limit the growth of tourism. For example: the reduction from 7 to 5 cruise terminals in the Port of Barcelona; the limitation of access for tourist coaches to the city; the termination of licenses for more than 10,000 HUTs; and the reduction of the number of tourists in Areas of High Tourist Affluence and the recovery of local life.

This table showed that maintaining this “status quo” is not viable , and that it is necessary to open spaces of shared governance to face a context of ecological, social and human limits.

Round table 2 – “From limit to opportunity: towards a regenerative model”

Moderated by Carla Cama

The second table delved into the concept of regenerative tourism from four complementary perspectives: community governance, European projects, transformative experiences in the territory and proposals for change based on personal coherence.

Main points of view of the speakers:

Óscar Gussinyer (Resilience Earth)

• He placed the debate on governance and complexity .
• He defended that we need to stop “talking only about tourism” and look at the territory as a living system, with diverse voices and community potential.
• Regeneration requires dialogue, listening and flexible structures that allow for processes, not closed solutions.

Nicolás Espitalier (B.Link)

• He brought a European vision: in 2022 the concept was almost unknown and in 2025 it began to consolidate, but it was still very conceptual.
• He showed how European projects linked to sport are driving regeneration and generating positive impact and territorial cooperation .

David Isern (Cerdanya Viva / Regenerative Institute)

• He explained how regeneration often begins with personal and organizational crises and turning points .
• He recounted the transformation of a traditional hotel into a living ecosystem , with shared governance and connection with nature as the central axis.

Anna Alaman (Open Eyes / Regenerators)

• He described regeneration as coherence, resilience and sacrifice.
• He emphasized that we need to “ look inward ” and constantly review how we generate vitality or drainage in our practices and organizations.
• He brought powerful ideas about how regeneration can begin by connecting tourists, neighbors and communities.

Conclusions of the Conference

The November 14th Conference left three key messages:

1. There is no regenerative transition without limits : ecological, social and political.
2. Regeneration is not a technique: it is a relational and community practice that is built in slow, situated and dialogued processes.
3. Shared experiences show that it is possible to transform projects, organizations and territories , but it requires courage, coherence and distributed governance.

At Aethnic we would like to deeply thank the participation of all the people who made this Conference possible: speakers, institutions, entities, projects and attendees. The quality of the contributions, the generosity of the debates and the willingness to open new paths confirm that there is a real collective energy to rethink tourism and move forward, in a courageous and shared way, towards models that regenerate life in all its forms.

This Conference is just one more step in a broader process. At Aethnic, we reaffirm our commitment to continue promoting spaces for dialogue, learning and co-creation with the sector, communities and administrations. We will continue working to ensure that tourism in Catalonia becomes an engine of positive transformation, rooted in the territory, the people and the future.

Event organized with the support of Barcelona City Council and Barcelona Activa.

Financed with tourist tax.