Locals’ tales and tourist trails: a regenerative tourism approach for Bridgend, South Wales

To date there is little empirical evidence of regenerative tourism case studies (Bellato et al., 2023b) perhaps due to the inherently organic nature of such a concept leading to methodological difficulties and complexities. This paper explores an action-oriented research paradigm, whereby the act of undertaking the research is a catalyst for regenerative tourism within a specific region. The paper presents several datasets forming the first phase of a project that seeks to explore the implementation of a successful regenerative tourism approach for Bridgend County Borough (BCB), South Wales, to culminate in the use of the ‘Geotourist’ App. It offers an insight into the various techniques with which to engage with communities in order to enhance regenerative tourism in BCB, with the potential for a fairer society, richer culture, healthier communities and ecological respect. It adds to the current literature around regenerative tourism, providing a case study example of action-oriented research.