20 October 2026 – Nigel McDonald

Sustainable tourism

Leaving places better than we found them

Most conversations about tourism are about damage limitation: fewer flights, smaller footprints, less pressure on fragile places. But what if a visit could do more than simply avoid harm? What if it could actively help a place recover and thrive?

That is the idea behind regenerative tourism — an approach that aims to leave places better than we found them. Rather than being mere consumers of a destination, visitors can become part of its recovery. Where we stay, how we travel, what we buy and how we spend our time can all make a difference to habitats, wildlife, local communities and the rural economy.

In his talk for Engaging Issues, Nigel will draw on his work in the Shropshire Hills to share practical examples of how visitors, tourism businesses and whole destinations can give time, money and support back to the landscapes they enjoy. He will explain the difference between sustainable and regenerative tourism, and why a deeper connection between people and place matters.

He will offer a hopeful and practical vision of tourism in which visitors, communities, businesses and nature all benefit — and invite us to consider what each of us can do, as visitors and as residents, to make sure that every visit leaves a positive legacy.

Nigel McDonald

Nigel is the lead for sustainable and regenerative tourism in the Shropshire Hills National Landscape team. He works with partners on projects designed to engage the public and local communities through environmentally positive tourism, the arts, interpretation and marketing.

Nigel's first degree was in Environmental Pollution Science, focussing on environmental pollution and human impact on the environment. He has a masters degree in Heritage Management from the University of Birmingham, where his thesis was on the use of cognitive psychology to influence visitor behaviour, beliefs, and values.