Regenerative Tourism: A Pathway to Tourism Development in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

This paper explores the potential of regenerative tourism as a sustainable development pathway for Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). Renowned for its rich cultural heritage, diverse natural landscapes, and complex post-conflict socio-economic context, BiH has seen tourism emerge as a vital economic sector, contributing approximately 10-11% of GDP and 12% of total employment prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Recent growth in tourist arrivals and overnight stays underscores the sector's importance for national development. Regenerative tourism represents a paradigm shift beyond conventional and sustainable models, emphasizing ecosystem restoration, community empowerment, and socio-economic resilience while enhancing BiH's tourism products and experiences. This study employs a mixed-methods approach, combining a desk review and qualitative content analysis of key tourism strategies from both BiH entities with a survey of 46 stakeholders, including tourism professionals, hospitality providers, local authorities, NGOs, and academics. The conceptual framework, grounded in regenerative tourism and development literature, centers on five design dimensions: place-based orientation, systems thinking, ethical stewardship and regenerative action, collaborative governance, and transformative learning. Strategic documents were evaluated against these dimensions, and survey data were analyzed descriptively to assess stakeholders' knowledge, attitudes, and readiness for regenerative tourism. Findings indicate that while entity-level tourism strategies incorporate sustainability, inclusiveness, and competitiveness-focusing on product development, destination marketing, and human resource capacity-they lack explicit regenerative goals such as ecosystem restoration, net-positive impact, and transformative learning. Stakeholders exhibit moderate conceptual awareness but limited training, experience, and collaboration mechanisms to implement regenerative practices. The study contributes to academic and policy debates by situating regenerative tourism within BiH's post-conflict development context, highlighting key opportunities and challenges, and providing strategic recommendations for policymakers and practitioners. Ultimately, regenerative tourism emerges as a transformative pathway for BiH to enhance environmental restoration, social cohesion, and economic resilience while positioning itself as a competitive and responsible destination in the global market.