Circularity and Regenerative Tourism as Key Instruments for Sustainability in the Rural Areas of Manabí, Ecuador

Abstract

Circularity and regenerative tourism are instruments that influence the sustainability and resilience of the settings where tourism activities take place. Despite this, these instruments fail to consolidate all the theoretical integrity that corresponds to them as key elements for achieving sustainable development in rural contexts. Hence, the purpose of this study is to theoretically and methodologically re-evaluate the guiding principles of circular and regenerative tourism as tools to guarantee the sustainability and resilience of tourism. It highlighted the tangible and intangible resources of rural communities and developing potential that has not yet been sufficiently explored. The deductive method was used along with other methods derived from practices, such as document reviews, observations, surveys, interviews, and scaling. Techniques such as synthetic analysis, abstractions, comparisons, and generalisations were used to study the potential of circularity and regenerative tourism for sustainable tourism development in the rural parishes in the province of Manabí. The impact on improving the living conditions in host communities were also revealed. To conclude, the revaluation of the theoretical and methodological elements, and principles associated with circularity and regenerative tourism as instruments could help achieve sustainable development in rural communities.