Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ignored travel, as if arrival at a destination happens by magic; thus much
of the tourist experience has been overlooked, as well as the lion's share of
environmental impact. Slow travel has emerged as a response to this gap. It is
an umbrella term for a 'new tourism', reflecting different motivations and
perceptions.
Low-carbon
Low-carbon tourism is an outcome of slow travel. In some cases the desire for
low-carbon tourism will also be a driver for slow travel, where consumers or
providers are concerned to reduce their holiday carbon footprint. By way of
explanation, exploratory research with slow travellers found that only some
participants chose slow travel in order to secure environmental benefits
(Dickinson et al, 2010b). Guiver, Lumsdon and Morris (2007) also found
tourists using buses, but who had a car available, were likely to choose bus
travel for personal benefits rather than environmental concerns. Those for
whom the environment is considered key have been termed 'hard slow trav-
ellers' (Dickinson et al, 2010b). On the other hand, 'soft slow travellers', while
seeing environmental benefits as an added bonus, chose slow travel due to a
preference for a particular slow travel mode, or sought an experience that slow
travel afforded (Dickinson et al, 2010b); that is, for the personal benefits
(Guiver, Lumsdon and Morris, 2007). These participants, for example, often
took flights for other holidays. Dickinson et al (2010b) describe the distinc-
tion between 'hard' and 'soft' slow travel as a 'continuum rather than a
marked division'. Ultimately though, whether slow travel is undertaken by
'hard' or 'soft' slow travellers, low-carbon tourism will always be a discernible
outcome.
Slow travel comes within the remit of what is increasingly referred to as
low-carbon tourism (see, for example, Peeters et al, 2008). This relates to
tourism with a low-carbon impact through minimization of GHG emissions.
Within the tourism industry, emissions can be attributed by the three main
sectors: transport, accommodation and activities. Transport is responsible for
by far the greatest emissions (87 per cent), with accommodation second at 9
per cent, and activities 4 per cent (Peeters, 2007). It is therefore evident that
in order to achieve low-carbon tourism, transport should be the focus of mit-
igation measures, and Peeters et al (2008) identify changing transport choices
as a key opportunity for the industry. However, to date, most attempts to
reduce emissions have been within the accommodation sector, primed as
much by rising costs as climate change concerns. There has also been work at
a destination level (e.g. carbon neutral destinations, see Chapter 2) and
attempts to offset emissions. As the analysis of low-carbon tourism industry
strategy in Chapter 2 shows, while there are some positive contributions made
by other areas of tourism, low-carbon transport is essential to decarbonize the
tourism industry.
Given the importance of climate change, the tourism sector is ethically
bound to find ways to reduce its carbon footprint. As Chapter 2 illustrated,
not only is tourism failing to reduce its carbon footprint, it is currently
expected to increase. Therefore, the contention is that if slow travel is to
