National Parks set out regenerative tourism vision

The UK’s 15 National Parks have launched a collective new vision for regenerative tourism to help them navigate the delicate balance between tackling the climate and nature crises and providing of recreational opportunities for all.

For many years UK National Park Authorities, charged with looking after our most precious landscapes and making them accessible to all, have led on the development and promotion of sustainable tourism within their respective National Parks. This new shared vision shifts the focus to ‘regenerative tourism’, moving from a position of tourism ‘doing less harm’ to ‘helping give back more than it takes’. 

The founding legislation that led to the formation of National Parks came into place 75 years ago, in part as a response to post-war recovery and for the provision of recreational opportunities for everyone. While this remains a core objective today, there are undeniable pressures around the impact that visitors can have on these special places and an ever-growing need for the National Parks to respond to the growing climate and nature crises. At the same time, rural communities and the tourism and hospitality sector are facing huge pressures stemming from increased costs, greater overseas competition and the cost-of-living crisis. 

The vision highlights the commitment of National Park Authorities to: 

• Champion and support tourism development that contributes to the enhancement and regeneration of the places and communities in which it operates.

• Support tourism activity that helps reduce carbon emissions and increases nature recovery, while ensuring National Parks are relevant to everyone’s needs. 

Tom Hind, Chief Executive of the North York Moors National Park and tourism lead for the UK National Parks said: 

“Managed well, tourism has the power to transform people and places. It can have a positive impact on host communities, generate community wealth and connect people to nature, inspiring them to care for our most precious landscapes.”

 “However National Parks face significant challenges. To achieve truly positive transformation, we need to move from minimising the impacts of tourism to ensuring visitors leave our National Parks as better places.”

 “The vision marks a collective ambition for UK National Park Authorities, illustrating a shared experience of developing and promoting regenerative tourism. We have a long journey ahead of us, but this vision will help guide our thinking and our practices, as we work with partners, businesses and communities.”

 The vision outlines the future focus of National Park Authorities in developing and supporting tourism, including: 

• Measuring impact – data, evidence and intelligence.

• Developing more resilient rural businesses.

• Supporting and promoting low carbon and carbon-free travel. 

• Developing fully inclusive and accessible destinations.

• Developing nature-benefitting and low carbon experiences.

• Celebrating local distinctiveness and sense of place.

Tom Hind continued:

 “We cannot achieve these goals on our own, especially given current resource constraints. But we have a strong track record of partnership working at a local, regional and national level and seek to build on these partnerships with our communities, visitors, businesses and stakeholders. National Park Authorities have a unique place–based facilitation role to play, and we look forward to building on previous work to ensure our National Parks continue to be valued as national assets.”

 Alongside the vision, a collection of good practice case studies has been published to highlight the breadth of activity with which National Park Authorities are already involved with to support the development of regenerative tourism, and myriads of ways they are working with partners to achieve this. 

Read the UK National Parks Vision

Read the case studies of tourism good practice in UK National Parks