How-might-we

How might we use emerging tools and innovations to put the principles and values of sustainable and regenerative tourism into practice across all facets of our business? Internally, this would include our operations, supply chain, physical infrastructure and energy use. Externally this would include our products and services, community involvement, branding, marketing, and communications.

Challenge

Today’s travellers increasingly seek meaningful, restorative experiences rather than traditional tourism. Sustainable and regenerative tourism focused on wellness, nature therapy, environmental protection, local cultural experiences and community care are emerging trends in the global tourism industry, and many travelers are seeking authentic tourism experiences that reflect these values. There are also many emerging “green” innovations and technologies that can allow businesses to operate in more environmentally sustainable ways. Northern Skies Resort is well positioned and highly motivated to embrace these innovations and approaches, which align with its organizational values and intention to operate as a for profit social enterprise. However, the economy and tourism sector in Northern Ontario still prioritize extractive resource consumption (fishing, hunting, mining, forestry, etc.) and there is little local understanding and support of the value of environmental sustainability approach to business and tourism, or social enterprise as a business model. The challenge is identifying what concrete steps our business can and should take to be more environmentally sustainable; what promising examples of regenerative tourism we can look to as models; what business development resources, supports and partners exist that can help us make these changes; how these changes might affect our financial viability, pricing and current client base; and how we can better communicate our sustainability efforts to our guests and the wider public – in particular as we start to develop our next 5 year Strategic Plan.