Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
These three broad strands of academic discussion have not coalesced in
any other way than providing a broad base on which to build a more com-
prehensive approach, referred to here as slow travel as a form of tourism that
might develop more strongly in future. In all of the writings there is a grow-
ing awareness and description of how the elements are associated with
low-carbon travel. Høyer (2000), while not using the term slow travel, sug-
gests sustainable tourism mobility should be based on the low-impact modes
of walking, cycling, bus, train and tram.
Acceptance of the term slow travel is also acknowledged in the tourism
sector, with Mintel producing a report in 2009 suggesting slow travel repre-
sents the 'rediscovery of the pleasure of the journey … in an era of
commoditised air travel' (Mintel, 2009b, p6). However, while Mintel indicates
that slow travel has a reduced impact on the environment, the report refers to
slow travel as surface travel and includes the private car. Given the discussion
in Chapter 2, there is a conflict here discussed later in this chapter.
Slow travel has also been officially defined in Australia's Macquarie
Dictionary (2009) as:
noun
1. travel conducted at a slow pace to enjoy more fully the
places visited and the people met. 2. such travel seen as envi-
ronmentally friendly through its lack of reliance on air transport
[modelled on slow food].
However, as with Mintel, these definitions can encompass car travel, as only
air travel is excluded. The media have also embraced slow travel, especially in
quality papers such as
Der Spiegel
,
Le Monde
,
The Guardian
and
Observer
,
where it is regularly featured in the travel supplement. The media has used
slow travel in diverse ways and it has been employed to describe an alterna-
tive to air travel, to highlight low-carbon forms of travel, as an antithesis of
fast, and associated with slow food.
The ingredients of slow travel
Slow travel encompasses a variety of physical and experiential components.
There is likely to be much ongoing debate over what should or should not be
classed as slow travel. This topic aims to lead and guide these debates and, as
much as possible, the aim here is to define slow travel. The answer though is
not set in stone; this is an emerging subject, which scholars will address and
refine in due course. We have laid out the components in the form of an ingre-
dients list; however, some ingredients may be more important than others, and
in some contexts it might be imperative for a particular flavour to come
through with a different balance to the ingredients. It is also our thesis that,
while we emphasize the importance of the travel component, slow travel refers
to the whole holiday or day visit.
There is an important point. It is not about focusing on either travel from
origin to destination or at the destination as separate components; both are
integral to slow travel. For the most part, previous tourism research has
