Slow Tourism and how it can change our holidays for the better
1st June 2022
Our Senior Consultant, Sally Gandon discusses the benefits of slow tourism in this Newsweek article by Sophie Lloyd, a growing trend in the industry. They discuss the reasons for this growing popularity of this once niche market, and how it can benefit the tourist, local communities and the environment.
The benefits of Slow Tourism have been highlighted in this article:
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Once-in-a-lifetime adventures
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Meeting new and interesting people
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Ditching your comfort zone
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Contributing to the local economy
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Reducing your carbon footprint
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Avoiding vacation "burnout."
If we look at the positive and sustainable benefits, Slow Tourism can create a more meaningful connections between the visitor and the local communities, as it allows tourists more time to immerse themselves into the local way of life, learning more about their local cultures and customs. As quoted by Sally in the article “Feeling part of—and positively contributing to—local communities' lives can create an enormous sense of well-being." Sally also said it had "huge benefits" for locals "as it allows them to generate economic stability, develop skills and involve the whole community."
The article follows on with an overview on how Slow Tourism can help reduce carbon emissions of one's holiday. Slow Tourism tends to involve less moving around and therefore uses less transport overall, and encourages us to change flights for trains, bikes, or even walking.
