Regenerative tourism models for socio‐ecological restoration: a blue carbon perspective

Coastal tourism is expanding across some of the world's most ecologically valuable yet vulnerable landscapes, particularly blue carbon ecosystems such as mangroves, salt marshes, and seagrass meadows. While tourism is frequently framed through a sustainability lens, prevailing models largely emphasize impact reduction rather than active ecological recovery, leaving degraded coastal wetlands in states of chronic decline. This perspective argues the need for a fundamental re‐orientation of coastal tourism toward a more restorative action. We propose a conceptual framework by embedding restoration ecology into the novel regenerative tourism principles, structured around four mutually reinforcing components: (1) holistic ecosystem restoration, to rebuild hydrological integrity, biodiversity, and carbon sequestration functions; (2) community resilience, to ensure inclusive governance and long‐term custodianship; (3) circular economy, to ensure resource efficiency and low‐carbon infrastructure; and (4) visitor engagement and education, that transforms tourists into active contributors to restore ecosystems. Together, these domains reposition tourism from a passive beneficiary of healthy coastlines to a strategic agent of socio‐ecological renewal. We contend that aligning tourism development with measurable restoration targets can generate net‐positive ecological, social, and economic gains.