Izquierdo Gascón, MarioRubio Gil, Ángeles2025-01-202025-01-2020231. Izquierdo Gascón, M., & Rubio Gil, Á. (2023). Api-tourism as a Regenerative Tourism Modality against Rural Depopulation in Spain. Ager: Journal of depopulation and rural development studies, (38), 183-220.2340-4655https://hdl.handle.net/10115/59657New forms of alternative and proximity tourism, such as api-tourism, align with the regenerative tourism paradigm, which has gained prominence due to the current climate, ecological, and socio-economic crises. This paradigm takes a relational, ontological, and analytical approach to understanding connections between species and their environment. It is underpinned by a holistic perspective that recognises the interconnectedness and the impact of human behaviour on shaping the world around us. By analysing these relationships, api-tourism can help promote more regenerative forms of tourism that prioritise environmental and social well-being, and in the case of countries like Spain, such forms of tourism are significantly alleviating problems such as aging and depopulation in rural areas.The study presents api-tourism as an opportunity to promote rural development within the new paradigm of regenerative tourism by promoting sustainable and reparative values and practices. It shows how api-tourism can influence on the preservation of biodiversity, employment, and population in areas of very low population density, such as the Serranías de Interior in Spain. A region that covers a vast area of 65,489 km² that is highly depopulated, representing 13 % of the country's territory. The text uses the methodological triangulation approach, which involves a bibliographic and bibliometric review of the neologism "api-tourism" and related tourism modalities. The research also analyses the related econometric variables through case studies, in-depth interviews, and participant observation of agritourism operations dedicated to api-tourism. This approach leads to the characterization of a novel regenerative tourism model that strengthens ecosystems’ health and contributes to the retention of rural populations. This model is proposed for its greater resilience against climate change, from a social, human geography, and ecological perspective.enTurismo RegenerativoDespoblaciónApiturismoDesarrollo RuralArticle10.4422/ager.2023.10info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess