Highlights of this TRAINING
This advanced tourism training program is designed for those who want to integrate nature positive principles into their tourism business models. It includes an in-depth webinar for the theory, and a 5-day field training in Italy, providing the tools to design regenerative tourism experiences, build community partnerships, and measure impact.
The 5-day field training through the Central Apennines rewilding area takes us across thousands of hectares of beautiful rugged mountains, deep valleys and extensive beech forest. This region of Italy is a biodiversity hotspot with abundant populations of iconic species such as Marsican brown bears, wolves, deer, wild boars and the endemic Apennine chamois.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
2 Hour Webinar:
- Nature Positive Thinking: Understanding the interdependence between tourism and biodiversity
- From Sustainability to Regeneration: How to shift from ‘doing less harm’ to actively restoring ecosystems.
- Enterprise & Sustainability: Developing tourism models that support local business and ecological goals
- Community Engagement: Co-creating value with local communities
- Designing Nature Positive Experiences: Crafting memorable, impactful travel products.
- Partnerships & Impact Measurement: Working with local communities and tracking your contributions.
5 Day Field Training
- Learning from local models and deep dives into rewilding and conservation projects.
- Enhancing hospitality and guest experiences while preserving natural assets
- Workshops with successful nature positive businesses.
- Responsible Tourism Strategy: Implementing impactful, regenerative tourism practices
- Hands-on sessions on marketing, storytelling, and community engagement.
- Peer mentorship to develop your custom business plan.
Who It’s For
- Tourism business owners ready to align profit with purpose.
- Guides and entrepreneurs looking to scale their impact.
- Destination managers and policymakers shaping regenerative tourism strategies.
Photogallery
what does this TRAINING look like?
DAY 1 – ARRIVAL AT PESCASSEROLI
Transfer from Rome Fiumicino to Pescasseroli – Welcome Lunch in town – Recap of the Online Training learnings and Expectations for the week – Dinner – Overnight in Pescasseroli
DAY 2 – INTO THE WILD
Morning sessions – Breakfast – Hike up to the mountain refuge – Lunch – Nature Positive Tourism Sessions – Sunset Wildlife Watching – Dinner – Campfire – Overnight at Mountain Refuge
DAY 3 – NATURE CONSERVATION & COMMUNITY
Sunrise Hike & Wildlife watching – Breakfast – Nature Positive Business Sessions – Nature Conservation & Community Engagement program – Dinner – Overnight at Mountain refuge
DAY 4 – BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER
Breakfast – Nature Positive Business Sessions & Assessments – Sunset Hike – Dinner – Overnight in Pescasseroli
DAY 5 – LAST LEARNINGS & GOODBYE
Morning Sessions – Breakfast – Debrief – Transfer back to Rome Fiumicino
Practical information
Dates & Availability
WEBINAR
- November 2026
- Join our waitlist.
FIELD TRAINING
- January 2027
- Join our waitlist.
Costs (Included & Excluded)
WEBINAR
€50 per person
When possible, we subsidise this training for candidates who can not afford the full training rate. Contact us if you would like to be considered for a subsidised rate.
You can choose to follow only the webinar, or also join the Field Training. If you sign up for the field training, the online training is free of charge and included in the price.
FIELD TRAINING
€1890 per person (business rate)
Whether you are self-employed or part of a company, business or organisation: when following a training that demonstrably leads to deepening your knowledge, these business costs are often fully tax deductible.
€1490 per person (private rate)
When possible, we subsidise this training for candidates who can not afford the full training rate. Contact us if you would like to be considered for a subsidised rate.
Includes:
- The 2 hour webinar
- Two nights accommodation in a family owned hotel (shared twin room)
- Two nights at a mountain refuge (shared room)
- All local meals & drinks, and packed lunches for field days, from lunch at Day 1, till breakfast at Day 5
- Local transport and transfers to/from Rome Fiumicino
- A local conservation & community experience
- Two trainers/ facilitators & local guides
- A contribution to Rewilding Apennines
Excludes:
- Transport to/from Rome Fiumicino
- Travel insurance
- Personal expenses
Logistics / Transport
You will be picked up at 10.00 at Rome Fiumicino Airport on Day 1 of the training (often a Monday), and dropped off again on Friday at 11.00 at the same spot.
TIP: travel by train – take the train to Rome Termini and then the DaVinci express to Rome Fiumicino.
For those who want to travel independently, you can go directly to Pescasseroli.
Accommodation
You will sleep in a mountain hut, in the middle of nature, and in a family owned hotel in the town of Pescasseroli. In the mountain hut, you share a room & bathroom with the group. At the hotel, you share a room with one or two other people from the group.
Food
Meals are communal and local. Expect bread still warm from the oven, soups that change with the season, and at least one dish you cannot pronounce but will miss deeply afterward. Special diets are respected, though curiosity is encouraged.
Requests for vegetarian, vegan and other dietary requirements and allergies can be catered for: please do not forget to advise us of these preferences at the time of booking.
Health & Safety
Basic fitness level expected with maximum 5-8 km. hikes per day.
In Italy, wildlife is particularly elusive: spotting animals requires respect, silence, and patience. Carefully following your guide’s instructions is key -not only for safety, but also to increase your chances of a meaningful encounter. Moving quietly, keeping your distance, and leaving no trace allows for a truly authentic and respectful experience, with minimal impact on the environment and the animals.
We are working with Rewilding Apennines by supporting their programmes and ensuring the protection and restoration of natural environments outside protected areas.
Testimonials
Team & local guides
Simon Collier
Born and raised in South Africa, Simon started his safari career over twenty years ago working across a broad sector of the safari and tourism industry in Southern Africa. With experience from guiding through to managing camps, sales and marketing. Currently living in The Netherlands, Simon has spent the last ten years supporting the development of the wildlife and tourism sector across ten countries in Europe, with a focus on sustainable business development and training within the nature-based tourism sector. In 2019, Simon launched Nature Tourism Development - a consultancy designed to support the nature tourism industry. Simon will be your trainer for the webinar, and leading the field training in Italy.
Aukje van Gerven
Aukje’s journey started with degrees in Law and History, but a bicycle trip from Tanzania back to the Netherlands ignited her love for adventure travel. When she finished her biking expedition, Aukje worked in the European nature conservation sector for over ten years, focusing on nature based tourism, travel, hospitality and events. For five years, she was in charge of wildlife tourism & training in the European rewilding areas. In 2023 she co-founded MOYO, which she now manages, developing new nature positive journeys, retreats and trainings. Aukje coordinates all operations & logistics, and facilitates parts of the field training in Italy.
Valeria Roselli
Since she was a child, Valeria walked along the paths through the forest of the mountains where she was born. Her curiosity led her to explore and get to know the territory. Her love of nature and for the Abruzzo mountain’s became her passion, which then became her profession. She is now a nature guide, environmental interpreter and international mountain leader, and one of the most expert guides in the Italian Apennines.
Umberto Esposito
Since his childhood Umberto has lived in the historical area of the National Park of Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise. After graduating, he began his career as a nature guide, combining two great passions in one profession: nature and photography. In 2009 he founded a small tour operator whose mission is to bring people closer to nature. Umberto is also a vital part of several multi media projects in the Central Apennines.