Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
that the tourism system had encouraged an oversupply of provision and that
there was a strong case for travelling less. The increasing carbon costs of trans-
porting markets to distant locations has been questioned more recently; there
is a case, it is argued, for alternative approaches other than growth in tourism
(Hall, 2009).
In order to decouple tourism from its high carbon-dependent path, there is
clearly a need to address the way we take holidays and particularly how we
travel, since tourism transport is responsible for the major share of tourism
emissions (Gössling, 2002). Slow travel has emerged as one potential solution.
Given the diversity of interpretations of slow travel expressed in academic and
industry literature, and in the media, this chapter sets out to clarify the core
ingredients of slow travel. It explores what slow travel is, but also, and just as
importantly, what slow travel is not. It begins by explaining the origins of the
term and its association with slow food and low-carbon tourism. It then focuses
on the elements of slow travel. Some elements are considered essential ingredi-
ents, while other aspects of slow travel may only be applicable to some contexts
or tourists. This section concludes with an overview of the ingredients and their
role in slow travel. The chapter concludes with an exploration of the market
for slow travel and how slow travel differs from mainstream tourism.
Origin of the term
Travelling at a slow pace and engaging with places along the way is not new.
Prior to the widespread use of cars and air travel, much tourism was slow sim-
ply because it relied on modes of transport which, due to limitations of speed,
restricted the distance that could be travelled in a day. Travel on foot, by
horse, donkey or stagecoach were at one time the only forms of land-based
travel, and there is still some limited use of animals as tourism transport.
There was also extensive use of navigable rivers and coastlines, and these are
the subject of discussion in Chapter 9. Therefore, in one sense, slow travel is
revisiting a style of travel romanticized in the Grand Tour, an era when most
travel was local, and only the wealthy could afford the time and cost of inter-
national journeys (Towner, 2002). However, slow travel in the present day is
different for most but not all. There is still a walking world that permeates
developing countries, and this is often forgotten (Porter, 2002). There are,
however, a multiplicity of destinations that are more readily accessed, and a
market that continues to expand, both in the traditional generating countries
but equally in the advancing economies of the developing world. In addition,
most forms of transport have developed; these facilitate slow as well as fast
travel.
An analysis of the references made to slow travel suggests that it fits within
a wider discourse of slow being the antithesis of fast (Andrews, 2006; Honoré,
2004). The three core pillars of the slow movement comprise doing things at
the right speed, changing attitudes towards time and the use of it, and seeking
quality over quantity (Peters, 2006). The philosophy of slow extends to a wide
range of aspects, including design, leisure and even sex. Mostly, emphasis is
placed on slow as a way of life; as portrayed, for example, by Gayeton (2009)
