Slow Tourism

In the last few decades, tourism has become one of the fastest growing economic sectors in the world, with an increasing economic, social and environmental role. It has been recognised as a strategic driver, able not only to heighten economic growth, employment, and enhancement of cultural values, diversity and heritage, but also to help countries transition towards more inclusive and resilient economies. In this framework, slow tourism has been playing an important role, compliant with the universal 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Its different forms - i.e. ecotourism, rural and village tourism, as well as religious routes - can improve social inclusiveness, poverty reduction, and environmental protection while empowering host communities, generating trade opportunities, and fostering peace and intercultural understanding.
The pilgrimage on religious routes is an ancient practice, largely rooted in many confessions as an expression of a mainly religious experience. Nevertheless, more recently, this kind of religious tourism has gained new values for both people and territories hosting destinations: its target groups of travellers have enlarged to those looking for spiritual holidays (individuals and groups) as well as well-being and integrated experiences combining religious sites, cultural heritage, landscape and nature, traditions and crafts, food, wine,and local events (shared with local people to feel part of the local community). Such experiences respond to the sustainability challenge as an opportunity for local development in depopulated areas but yet rich in history, nature, art and traditions.
On this basis, this paper tries to evaluate the recent experiences of some religious tourist routes in Sicily (South Italy), focusing on: a) their relevance in relation to emerging strategies and policies (i.e. cultural ecclesial parks, regional development plans, etc.); b) and their aptitude to generate sustainable and innovative local development. In particular it addresses the recent experiences in progress on the Itinerarium Rosaliae in Sicily as opportunities for sustainable and local development.

This paper attempts to rethink the tourist flow from the perspective of urban planning solutions, which have potentials of slowing down tourists and dispersing them more evenly in urban areas. It starts with an overview on current urban tourism trends and challenges and with a cross-disciplinary approach the wider contemporary literature is introduced including citta slow and slow design. The focal point of the analytical part of the paper is the historic city of Bruges and the analysis of its green spaces, land and water related structures that influence tourist mobility. The paper argues that heritage towns like Bruges are not without tools to cope with the tourist 'overflow' and more awareness of tourists' space usage coupled with sound planning might even boost their efficiency to do so. The study also aims to enrich the intellectual debate on slow perspectives and practices in order to help urban destinations manage successfully spatial-temporal crowd movement.

At first glance, differentiating slow travel from slow
tourism might appear to be predominantly a question of
semantics, or at best an opinionated debate about minor
differences between the two qualitative conceptualizations.
We beg to differ, and hope to provide more substantive points
of note that will advance the theoretical discourse that
surrounds these two alternative, sustainable tourism genres.
Both ideas arise out of the Italy-born, Slow Food Movement's
emergence as an antithesis to the 'fast life' of modern society.
Beyond this commonality, the two are offered as alternatives
to mass tourism, though their rationales for doing so diverge
theoretically and practically. There is also a parallel concern
about how these alternative genres are ecologically sensitive
and how they fit, or do not fit, the tenets of sustainable
tourism, in which the best interests of human-environmental
relations in the near- and more distant- future are not
compromised.
The structure of our argument is as follows. First, we
compare and contrast slow travel and slow tourism, pointing
out their common conceptual roots, their similarities and
points of departure, and most significantly their decidedly
different contextual 'spaces'. Of particular salience are the
ecological and developmental conundrums the two genres
pose or do not address sufficiently, and in the case of slow
travel appear to avoid. We then proceed to a discussion that
brings the challenging objectives of sustainable tourism and
ecologically sustainable development into focus, with the
following questions helping guide the critique. Are slow
travel and slow tourism equally viable alternatives as new
tourism models? How much should sustainable tourism and
sustainable development goals enter into our assessments
of their future promise? How much do geographical and
developmental contexts matter when evaluating these slow
movement genres? Finally, in a concluding summary we
press the point that slow travel and slow tourism are
decidedly different genres with different ecological
rationales, despite their common conceptual roots.

This contribution is part of a more extensive PhD project that looks at the identification of the complex medieval road network in two study cases along the pilgrimage route via Francigena. Since the pilgrimage on via Francigena is a phenomenon that has been getting popular again over the last two decades, the investigation seeks to explore the modern management of the itinerary, how the landscape is changing, and the experience of the pilgrimage travel.
In doing so, this work takes into account the point of view of two main protagonists of the itinerary: insiders and outsiders. The formers are represented by the inhabitants that manage an economic activity in relation with the tourist route (active subjects of their municipality); the latter are those people that travel on the itinerary, the pilgrims. The methodology takes a qualitative approach using open-ended oral interviews and the support of a quantitative questionnaire (Likert Scale) to better measure the experience of the interviewees.
These research results allow us to identify specific criticalities or benefits in the commodification of via Francigena, the inhabitants‘ attitude towards the hosting experience and the changes on the involved municipalities. Furthermore the perception of pilgrims with respect to the crossed landscape and the technical aspects of the itinerary. It will be also of interest to debate whether it is possible to match the complex historical background with both the pilgrims expectations and the inhabitants necessities.

Peloponnese synthesizes a unique spatial entity of landscapes of exceptional natural beauty, significant archaeological and historical sites, monuments, outstanding cultural events for all kinds of tourists and travellers. In addition to this, the railway network in the Peloponnese had been considered a key driver of economic and spatial development of the peninsula since 19th century. However, due to the socioeconomic crisis in Greece, most of the network was closed down in 2011. Hence, the concept of tourism-oriented railway development delineates the twofold role of railway; first as a driver to develop new models of sustainable tourism and to explore the existing cultural heritage, and second, as part of the cultural heritage of the Peloponnese. Since such a multi-functional concept involves a great number of actors and social groups, the attainment of synergies between railway, tourism and cultural heritage highly depends on decision-making. The Albula/ Bernina Railway Lines in Switzerland is seen as a valuable example of synergies among sustainable tourism, cultural heritage and key actors from which the lessons for the Greek context can be learnt. After an introductory section, a brief overview on the spatial conditions of the Peloponnese identifies those potential tourism and cultural enclaves. Observed through the lens of informal planning as supplement to formal planning processes, the paper finally highlights the required synergies for enhancing cultural heritage experience, improving future dynamic alliances among key-stakeholders and promoting sustainable regional development.

Il turismo archeologico subacqueo in Italia: opportunità e rischi
1. Una straordinaria opportunità
2. Elitismo gentrificato e slow diving
3. Una pratica virtuale ed educativa
4. Mondo blu e mondo grigio: l’alterità del turismo subacqueo
5. Una cura per un sistema cancerizzato? Il caso di Siracusa
6. La chimera del turismo sostenibile: le Cinque Terre e Capri
7. I percorsi subacquei di Ustica: turismo e archeologia
8. Autenticità e spazi marini: Ustica e Corfu
9. Turisti, archeologi o pirati? Spot e archeologia subacquea
10. Atlantide e il turismo subacqueo pseudo-archeologico
11. Ustica: il museo delle anfore tra voyeurismo e necrofilia
12. Dal mito alla realtà: i percorsi fantasma di Ustica
13. Il sontuoso mondo di Baia e la nascita del turismo
14. Il parco sommerso di Baia e il Ninfeo di Punta Epitaffio
15. La vendetta del Ciclope: un percorso difficile

Bringing together scholars from the areas of tourism, leisure and cultural studies, eco-humanities and tourism management, this book examines the emerging phenomenon of slow tourism. The book explores the range of travel experiences that are part of growing consumer concerns with quality leisure time, environmental and cultural sustainability, as well as the embodied experience of place. Slow tourism encapsulates a range of lifestyle practices, mobilities and ethics that are connected to social movements such as slow food and cities, as well as specialist sectors such as ecotourism and voluntourism. The slow experience of temporality can evoke and incite different ways of being and moving, as well as different logics of desire that value travel experiences as forms of knowledge. Slow travel practices reflect a range of ethical-political positions that have yet to be critically explored in the academic literature despite the growth of industry discourse.

A gyorsaság kultusza vírusként terjed a posztmodern társadalomban, ellenpontjaként azonban egy alternatív
idôkultúra is jelen van, amelynek tagjai visszakapcsolnak és lassabb ritmus szerint élnek. Ez a dichotómia, vagyis az
egyre gyorsuló világ hatásai, illetve az ennek ellenfeszülô lassúság különbözô megnyilvánulási formái már egy ideje
a különbözô társadalomtudományi kutatások fókuszában állnak.
Az elméleti tanulmány kettôs céllal íródott: egyrészt ezen transzdiszciplináris elméleti fejtegetések turisztikai
szempontú összegzése és szintetizálása, másrészt a feltárt elméleti alapokon egy lassú turizmus modell felállítása.
A téma megértéséhez a társadalmi idô kronologikus változásai adják a hátteret, amely megalapozza a turizmus
mint a szabadidô-eltöltés egyik preferált formájának vizsgálatát a gyors és a lassú kettôsének optikáján keresztül.
A turizmus történetének ez a fajta megközelítése arra is rámutat, hogy egészen a XX. század közepéig a lassú mobilitás és turizmus volt a természetes, és gyors, tömegturizmusról csupán pár évtizede beszélhetünk. A tanulmány végigveszi a lassú turizmus koncepciókat, amelyek eredményeként a szerzô saját modellt alkot. Remélhetôleg az elméleti háttér és a felállított modell a hazai lassú termékekkel és desztinációkkal kapcsolatos empirikus kutatások beindulására katalizátorként hat.

The Slow City, Cittàslow or Città Lenta movement is a spin-off of the Slow Food movement. It has variously been defined as an urban social movement and a model for local governance (Pink, 2008).
Formed in 1999 in Italy, this non-governmental organization has spread across 10 countries and awarded certification to more than 100 cities worldwide. Most of these are located in the Tuscany and Umbrian regions of Italy, but other European cities have also joined (e.g. Waldkirch, Hersbrück and Schwarzenbrück in Germany; Levanger and Sokndal in Norway; Ludlow, Diss, Mold and Aylsham in the UK) as well as towns in Australia and South Korea (Cittàslow, 2006a).
Building from the ideas of the Slow Movement, the same principles and philosophy can be easily applied to tourism. Central to the meaning and concept of Slow Tourism is the shift in focus from achieving a quantity and volume of experiences while on holiday towards the quality of (generally fewer) experiences. It is a form of tourism that respects local cultures, history and environment and values social responsibility while celebrating diversity and connecting people (tourists with other tourists and with host communities).
The primary idea of slow travel is its relationship and connection with culture and the opportunities it offers for visitors to become a part of a local community, often using local services, and travelling slowly enough to enjoy more detailed aspects of the places that they pass through. It removes the notion of ‘must-see attractions’ and the need to ‘fit as much in as possible’, but avoids the idea that a tourist sits on a beach for a week doing very little. Instead, it represents a very different experience that includes some of the must-see places, but seen more purely through their relationship with their host community.

Questo contributo considera il viaggio lento come una pratica innovativa di loisir e la lentezza come la quintessenza della sostenibilità turistica, poiché collocata in una cornice spazio-temporale che, se per un verso stimola a visitare il territorio in modo attento e responsabile (dal punto di vista ambientale, culturale e sociale), per un altro sensibilizza le comunità residenti verso una più completa attivazione delle risorse locali. L’approccio riflessivo e la letteratura interpretativa sono il tramite teorico attraverso cui la lentezza si configura come modalità thick di fare turismo, come dimensione “umanistica” posta al convergere di diversi criteri di fruibilità dello spazio, che comprendono non solo il ricorso alla mobilità dolce, ma anche la predisposizione a cogliere la geografia intima delle destinazioni, nel rispetto di una identità territoriale che trova espressione proprio nel rapporto ecologico tra natura e società. Tutto ciò spesso richiede nuove strategie di organizzazione dell’offerta in grado di trasferire in modo più efficace il valore specifico dei paesaggi e delle identità locali nei servizi e nei prodotti del territorio. La progettazione partecipata e l’adozione di tecniche interpretative possono rivelarsi come metodi particolarmente inclini a favorire questo processo, e a richiamare in causa la cooperazione tra gli attori locali come unico viatico in grado di traghettare il senso dei patrimoni verso modelli integrati di sostenibilità territoriale.

Sicily was once the breadbasket of the Roman Empire,
but by the 20th century Sicilian wheat production had
declined dramatically due to deforestation and changing economic,
political, and climactic conditions. Alternatives to
wheat production are now being actively promoted in order
to revitalize Sicily’s rural economy. These include the Via
dei Borghi, an ambitious project proposed by Sicily’s
Agency for Agricultural Development (ESA) to promote
“slow tourism” through the island’s interior using the
appeal of traditional agricultural heritage. The borghi at the
heart of the project are rural centers associated with the Fascist
“Battle for Wheat” that were designed to hobble the
traditional agricultural systems that ESA is valorizing. The
result is an ironic but creative requalification of the borghi
that incentivizes farmers to focus on diverse and unique local
products, providing one answer to the question of what to
produce after wheat.

Slow Food is a non-profit, eco-gastronomic, member-supported organization founded in 1989 to counteract Fast Food and fast life. A further development of Slow Food is the Cittaslow Movement, which builds on the ideas of Slow Food but extends the philosophy to cities and destinations. Slow Tourism has evolved as an extension of slow philosophy to encompass travel and tourism activities. Slow Tourism can be discussed from a consumer behavior, marketing or sustainable tourism perspective. Not much research has yet been done on the slow tourists. The main objective of this paper is determining who slow tourists are. Therefore, the empirical research has been realized in Seferihisar where is the first Cittaslow and slow destination in Turkey. According to the Cittaslow principles, Seferihisar visitors are categorized into three different types: dedicated, interested, and accidental slow tourists. Results show that, there are statistically significant differences between whole attractiveness means of slow tourist types.

This paper raises the issue of revitalization of small town tourism through the lenses of folklore-driven slow tourism. Folk art is slow by nature; it promotes traditional craftsmanship, human creativity, host-local relations and community cohesion. Therefore, it has similar characteristics to the slow movement, particularly 'slow tourism'. In this paper 132 tourists were surveyed at the heart of the Matyó land, in Mezőkövesd, about the slow aspects of their holiday, their folklore consumption and their satisfaction with visit. The findings revealed: (1) visitors have some awareness of the slow movements; (2) respondents readily chose slower transport options; (3) A certain link could be established between more intensive consumption of folklore products and longer stay; (4) Visitors had a high satisfaction rate regarding the consumption of folklore products. Based on the results the author draws the conclusion that boosting the consumption of folklore products in the context of 'slow tourism' might be one way of revitalizing tourism in small regional towns. Resumo Este artigo analisa o tema da revitalização de pequenas localidades através do turismo slow folclórico. A arte popular é lenta por natureza: promove o artesanato tradicional, a criatividade, as relações turista-anfitrião e a coesão da comunidade. Como tal, partilha características com o movimento slow, concretamente, com o slow tourism. Neste trabalho, 132 turistas foram inquiridos na localidade de Matyó, na Mezőkövesd, de modo a conhecer o lado slow das suas férias, o consumo dos produtos de folclore e o grau de satisfação com a visita. Os resultados revelam que (1) os visitantes têm conhecimento da existência dos movimentos slow, (2) os inquiridos prontamente escolhem opções de transporte mais slow, (3) há uma ligação entre o consumo mais elevado de produtos folclóricos e uma estada mais longa, e (4) os visitantes ficam muito satisfeitos com o consumo de produtos de folclore. Com base nos resultados, o autor conclui que, no contexto do slow tourism, o aumento do consumo de produtos de folclore pode ser uma forma de revitalizar o turismo em pequenas localidades.

Tourism market trends are changing in relation to the new communication technology dynamics, thus, web tourism 4.0 is providing new tools and new marketing approaches for Destination Management and Destination Marketing. In this scenario, slow tourism, with its multiple tourist offers, is oriented to a pro-summer approach, based on strategic communication marketing. This paper wants to propose some marketing perspectives for walking itineraries, such as the Via Francigena, on the basis of video marketing tools and, in particular, by taking advantage of the positive effects of cinetourism on the local tourism systems.
The descriptive methodology of research analyses, firstly, the potential of new technologies for slow tourism; then, the Via Francigena, as a world-famous slow travel product, in terms of both real and virtual experience. A recent pilgrimage experience on the Via
Francigena is also described by emphasizing its video marketing elements. Finally, some reflections on the role of communication strategies for tourism opens new hypothetical perspectives for cinetourism as a relevant Destination Management vision towards some slow tourism products.

ÖZET Dünyada, küreselleşmenin olumsuz etkileriyle beraber; kentlerde ve kırsal alanlarda çeşitli sorunlar ortaya çıkmıştır. Sakin Şehir hareketi, 1999'da küreselleşme ve kapitalizme tepki olarak doğmuştur. Kentlerin yerelliğini ve özgünlüğünü kaybetmeden sağlıklı kalkınmasını ve daha yaşanabilir bir yaşam inşa edilmesini amaçlamaktadır. Gökçeada, uluslararası Sakin şehir ağının bu unvana sahip ilk ve tek adasıdır. Çalışmada; bu unvanın Gökçeada'nın doğal ve kültürel peyzaj özelliklerine etkisi saptanmaya çalışılmıştır. Bu amaçla, adanın sakin şehir ilan edilme sürecinden itibaren 72 alt ölçüt çerçevesinde yapılan çalışmalar, bir puanlama sistemiyle değerlendirilmiştir. Böylece çeşitli konulara yönelik politikaları içeren 7 ana ölçütün Gökçeada özelinde ne derece uygulanabildiğine yönelik bir skala oluşturulmuştur.

La ricerca ha per oggetto di studio la via Francigena, sia rispetto all’articolato e tutt’oggi dibattuto contesto medievale che riguardo alla fruizione moderna dell’itinerario culturale europeo. La strada, come oggetto materiale e flusso culturale territorializzante, diventa la prospettiva trainante di questo studio sul paesaggio, sul patrimonio circostante e sulle pratiche di fruizione e rivitalizzazione dei centri attraversati per mezzo del pellegrinaggio e più in generale della mobilità lenta. Un fenomeno che, rispetto alla via Francigena, ha avuto un sostanziale sviluppo dai primi anni 2000, determinando una rielaborazione identitaria degli attori locali, dei luoghi e del paesaggio. Allo stesso tempo, vengono prese in esame le criticità frutto di un inevitabile processo di declinazione storica sulla realtà contemporanea.
Pertanto, le dinamiche micro-territoriali indagate sono poste in funzione della strada Francigena in quanto centro degli eventi, la quale consente di trarne le peculiarità. I casi studio lungo l’itinerario sono da individuarsi in due aree interregionali rurali a confronto: lo storico attraversamento dell’Appennino Tosco-Emiliano che trova nel Passo della Cisa il baricentro dei sui passaggi; le valli collinari tra i fiumi Orcia e Paglia della Toscana meridionale e dell’alto Lazio.
Da un’analisi geo-storica e rappresentazione cartografica, il contributo esplora la via Francigena come “prodotto” turistico. Quindi, sul valore rivitalizzante che la mobilità lenta esercita nei centri delle comunità rurali coinvolte. Mediante un metodo di ricerca misto (quantitativo e qualitativo)
e un’indagine etnografica, è stato indagato il rapporto tra i fruitori itineranti ed il contesto storico-paesaggistico che viene attraversato. Ma soprattutto, sulla relazione che si instaura tra la categoria degli outsider (viaggiatori e pellegrini) e degli insider (residenti locali e ospitalieri). Infatti, l’esperienza stessa del pellegrinaggio, strettamente legata alla ricerca di una fruizione alternativa dei luoghi, di relazioni sociali e benessere psico-fisico, produce delle ricadute culturali e terapeutiche anche sugli attori locali coinvolti.

For the last few years, more than half the world's population has lived in cities; a turning point in society has been reached and humanity has changed its ancestral way of living. This book examines and considers these epochal social, cultural and economic changes and outlines a cognitive framework through which the cities, using a widely tested methodology, can discover the cultural and gastronomic heritage of their own territories as trajectories for a creative future. The collection, survey and communication of the cultural data belonging to the order of orality-in our case the traditional gastronomic resources-can be a precious capital of knowledge, a resource of memory, of identity and of heritage for the present which, now as never before, feels the need to digitally connect with its analogical past. The University of Gastronomic Sciences and Slow Food, together with a partnership of public bodies and cultural associations-beginning from the experience of the Granaries of Memory and the Ark of Taste-have organised a vast and in-depth research project in Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Italy, as part of the Interreg Central Europe SlowFood-Ce: Culture, Heritage, Identity and Food project. The aim of the study was to supply theoretical and practical solutions for the capitalisation and valorisation of the gastronomic cultures, in various geographical and cultural contexts. The volume aims to be a working guide, a sort of manual that gives the basic instructions through which to approach the study of the urban gastronomic traditions, always starting with the city/countryside relationships. Thanks to the practical, applicative, experimental nature of the survey model proposed, the aim is to provide an agenda through which other cities in Europe and throughout the world, can set up virtuous processes of capitalisation and valorisation of their gastronomic resources, in a profitable and virtuous dialogue between the rural and the urban dimensions. A dialogue that will make it possible to restore to the city the spatial-temporal rhythms of the countryside, and with them the reproductive and affective traits that sustainable and supportive food preserves for humanity who rediscovers in nature the values that complexity seems to have lost for ever.

Il progetto HISTORIC (Heritage for Innovative and Sustainable TOurist Regions in Italy and Croatia), finanziato dal Programma transfrontaliero Italia-Croazia 2014-2020 (Interreg V-A), intende promuovere un utilizzo più consapevole, sostenibile e responsabile dei paesaggi storici costieri dell’Alto Adriatico e del loro patrimonio culturale. Per cercare di raggiungere tale obiettivo, il progetto prevede di elaborare delle strategie che implementino la conoscenza del/sul paesaggio da parte della popolazione locale, dei turisti, degli stakeholders e delle istituzioni.
In questo senso, grande attenzione è dedicata alla creazione di itinerari culturali che promuovano pratiche di mobilità dolce e che permettano di ripercorrere le antiche vie di comunicazione che hanno dato forma al paesaggio adriatico, dall’attuale delta del Po fino alla costa dalmata. Ciascun itinerario collegherà i vari punti (aree d’interesse storico, siti archeologici o zone naturali), formando una rete culturale, integrata e diffusa, che permetta di riconsiderare il paesaggio e la sua storia in termini più consapevoli e condivisi.
Questa promozione del turismo lento si avvarrà anche di tecnologie smart che arricchiscano l’esperienza di percezione del paesaggio (antico e moderno) e del suo patrimonio culturale, contribuendo così alla definizione di nuovi protocolli e di ‘buone pratiche’ da adottare nella pianificazione dei paesaggi storici.

Primo volume dei quaderni dedicati all'architettura rurale bellunese che esplora il borgo di Montagne in Val Canzoi (BL). Il paese della Scaglia Rossa custodisce autentici dettagli di architettura rurale in un ambiente dall'elevata biodiversità.

The Caribbean tourism industry owes much of its success to beneficial geographical site and situation factors. Yet these geographical advantages have also contributed to the mass tourism-related pressures of economic dependency, social division and environmental degradation. We argue geographically marginal locales in the Caribbean have the potential to develop alternative tourism models that ameliorate these negative repercussions. With its conceptual roots originating from the slow food movement and theoretically rooted in Herman Daly’s ‘soft growth’ development, we propose slow tourism as a viable soft growth model that is a more culturally sensitive and sustainable genre of alternative tourism. This new model and its locational appropriateness appears eminently suitable since it diversifies and revitalizes mature tourism offerings, redirects tourism away from ‘hard growth’ maxims, and thereby contributes to more sustainable tourism ensembles. In a maturing industry that requires innovation, revitalization and significant change in offerings if it is to survive and prosper, we argue the best places to promote slow tourism lies in the Caribbean’s overlooked geographical margins where diversity and authenticity still persist.

The paper aims to reposition urban cemeteries within the tourism supply and to showcase their values as cultural tourism products that can enrich visitors’ experiences. Although urban cemeteries as ritual meeting points of life and death have become an integral part of city tourism, contemporary tourism literature mostly embeds them in dark tourism or thanatourism, neglecting the experience-rich potentials of cemeteries as cultural products. This paper rectifies this by arguing that cemetery tourism makes a fascinating cultural display for tourists, offering both nature-based and cultural activities, therefore, it can be rightfully placed in heritage and cultural tourism. The paper investigates foreign visitors’ attitude at the National Graveyard in Budapest. During the empirical research 52 questionnaires were correctly filled in, followed by the same number of mini-interviews. The research findings confirmed the initial hypotheses: 1. Visitors regarded cemeteries as complex attractions representing both natural and cultural values, which added to the positive experiences of a Budapest city break. 2. There was no reference to the so called “dark aspects” of cemeteries in the answers.  3. Although the satisfaction rate was high, the lack of visitors is a clear indication that the cemetery in Budapest has been so far undervalued as an urban attraction. On the negative side, respondents criticized the lack of information sources available prior to visit, the inefficient marketing and the undesirable neighbourhood. The paper ultimately aims to provide stakeholders solid, preliminary data that might serve as a launching pad for further larger-scale research.

Si tratta di una rivoluzione dolce, senza rumore, quella della "slow life". Avvicina l'hippy e il no-global, a valori più alti, come il prendersi cura di sé e del proprio stile di vita. Ciò che c'è di nuovo è che questa aspirazione non è più riservata a una minoranza, ma è una tendenza che si sta diffondendo in tutti i campi, trasversalmente, dalla moda alla musica, alla letteratura. E' un'avanguardia, della quale si stanno appropriando in tanti: dal/la manager di successo, alla mamma che lavora tanto (troppo) e che sceglie (quando può) di "lavorare meno, per guadagnare meno, ma stare meglio".

Throughout the western world, the development of trends towards ‘slowing’ down have appeared at the forefront of quasi social movements like ‘Slow Food’. Embedded in the narratives of these is a quest to not simply ‘slow down’ but to recapture the essence of a lifestyle lost in the contemporary wake of fast capitalism (Agger 2004). In amenity migration, this is evident not only in the decision to relocate to the country but also in the development of lifestyles that are deemed authentic. In this chapter we seek to reveal further how this develops by arguing that there remains a complex interplay between the materiality of the countryside and it’s distinctiveness from the city. Using theoretical terrain from the likes of Latour and others, we contemplate the relationship of the individual to different spatial temporalities while also interrogating the possibilities of emotional attachment that emerge in community engagement. The result of this, we argue, is a stilling of the mind and body to produce alternative speeds in lifestyle and a reconfiguration of values and ideals.

In present times, the change of global trends in marketing and the development of digital technologies—electronic tools, systems, devices and resources that generate, store or process data, such as social media, online games and multimedia—represents an ideally unlimited source of opportunities for the promotion and marketing of tourist destinations.
Official institutions and private organisations focus on innovation, digital technologies and creativity to promote and commercialise a tourism destination. At the same time, on the demand side, the planning of a trip tends to take place almost totally, if not exclusively, online. This occurs, for instance, from the search for the destination to the first approach to the monuments to visit, or from hotel reservations and ticket purchases to the share of travel diaries and feedback on hotels and attractions.
Therefore, destination management organisations (DMOs) and destination
management companies (DMCs) have a new way to promote products and destinations which is much more effective and less expensive than traditional off-line campaigns. Digital technology also provides them the opportunity to analyse the users’ profiles, the modalities of interaction and the preferences to monitor and regularly boost the campaigns’ effectiveness. Among other advantages, it is worth mentioning that online
promotion and commercialisation can reach highly segmented targets. Here, it is also
important to highlight that the new EU Programmes—such as the EU Recovery Plan and Next Generation EU—demonstrate clear attention towards online communication. In such a case, the creation and implementation of digital strategies align future projects with the new EU financial schemes. However, we cannot talk about tourism digital marketing without addressing the importance of the online presence and reputation of companies and tourist destinations. The online experience is itself part of the tourist offering, as it communicates to the users (potential or former visitors) all the values of the destination’s culture and emotions. Consequently, a good user online experience is perceived by tourists as a guarantee. This said, companies working in the tourism and travel industry should be continuously updated about the tools and strategies of tourism marketing to increase their visibility, involve and retain customers, and support users’ knowledge acquisition. This manual provides guidelines and recommendations for small and emerging destinations to support them in the decision-making process related to their promotion and commercialisation. These guidelines also consider the sectoral crisis due to COVID-19. The rules of social distancing imposed by the COVID-19 emergency have indeed strongly penalised many sectors that are based on human relations and on the reception of people. This crisis in some ways accelerates the adoption of new strategies in communication, which are necessarily based on online strategies. The recommendations of this document aim to support the decision-making process of potential new tourist destinations about the implementation of effective digital marketing.
Recommendations are based on a qualitative analysis involving seven case studies which have been chosen for their uniqueness and creativity in the use of digital technologies, and considering the characteristics and needs of the ENI CBC MED Med Pearls project. The common denominator throughout the case studies is the replicability of their practices to other potential tourist destinations. The case studies that have been analysed are the following:
 Six destinations which are successful in the fields of promotion and
commercialisation:
o Puglia: a region in southern Italy with an extended coastline, UNESCO
sites and fascinating cultural and natural attractions. The authenticity and
contact with the local culture is a boosted element within the overall
tourist offering.
o Portugal: a European country where medieval castles, charming historic
towns, museums and beautiful beaches create endless opportunities for
tourists. Urban tourism is very developed—Oporto, for instance, has
often been awarded Best European Destination—but also the small rural
communities have been the object of tourist enhancement. The country,
in general, offers a great value for the money.
o Galicia: one of the most attractive regions of Spain, bordering Asturias,
Castile and León and Portugal. Among green valleys, beautiful landscapes
and a wonderful coastline bathed by the Atlantic Ocean, tourists find
here a destination structured around typical products, religion (Camino
de Santiago), culture and nature.
o Cape Town: the most visited and lively city in South Africa. One of its most
attractive features is the dual personality—European, for its cultural
origins, but at the same time deeply African. Founded by Dutch settlers
(1652), the so-called ‘mother city’ offers many hotspots for visitors, from
the Waterfront, a former abandoned port that now teems with
restaurants, museums and shopping centres, to the iconic Table
Mountain and the Kirstenbosch Botanic Gardens, vineyards, trekking
routes and lovely fascinating beaches.
o Thailand: a fascinating Asian country where tourist attractions range
from visiting the lush jungle to contact with monks in Buddhist temples;
from heavenly beaches to tastings of typical cuisine; and the sense of
hospitality of the local population. Thailand has been a tourist destination
in international rankings for a long time. Now it is investing massively in
digital marketing and in the ability to recreate its brand based on a
newfound authenticity.
o The Faroe Islands: an archipelago belonging to the Kingdom of Denmark,
that comprises 18 volcanic islands. An ideal slow tourism destination for
travellers wishing to experience a holiday in the open air, where the pace
of the day is marked by hiking in nature, walking along scenic trails and
many opportunities of contact with the local culture. One organisation acting as a DMC:
Zaytoun is a valuable case of general interest in the use of innovative practices. It is a non-profit organisation established to support Palestinian farming communities by helping the internationalisation of olive oil products. Recently the organisation started to act as DMC, implementing innovative practices of promotion, particularly at the time of COVID-19.
At the beginning the qualitative research aims at exploring the above-mentioned case studies. Informational and image sourcing was collected from web searches related to DMOs and DMCs. The result in the first part of the manual is dedicated to the description of the case studies. The practices used and related methodologies are summarised in a systematic way. In detail, much attention is dedicated to identifying the online strategies, digital tools, practices and aspects of each digital marketing initiative. The illustration of each case study ends with a table reprising the main practices, instruments and methodologies implemented by DMOs and DMCs.
Furthermore, the most recurrent and successful practices that emerged from the case studies have been taken as a reference forrecommendations and guidelines. Finally, details are summarised in eight fact sheets, which help readers develop their marketing strategies, particularly in small destinations and slow-tourism products.

Cultural routes and associated cultural tourism are innovative, broadly networked, and designed tourism systems that serve multiple purposes. Cultural routes had become a tool for maintaining destinations and promoting tourism simultaneously. This study assesses the potential of cultural routes in rebuilding Syria's dire tourism infrastructure situation after the war. The aim is to examine whether the "Spiritual Route" proposed by the Syrian Ministry of Tourism has the potential to attract tourists and reinstate itself as a sustainable route generating benefits for all stakeholders. The purpose is to determine the potential the "Spiritual Route" has for tourism and how it may attract people. Data has been obtained from a literature review and reconstructed from interviews and information from tourism databases and concerned personnel on its history, geography, and potential as a sustainable culture. The results from a SWOT analysis and the literature review revealed that the "Spiritual Route" has the potential to become a primary tourism attraction for a wide audience. This can be achieved by linking the tangible heritages of different geographical areas if planning and development are appropriate; however, the current internal situation of the war is a substantial hindrance. These principal findings can contribute as a valuable review in highlighting key limitations to be dealt with by decision-makers of Syria's "Spiritual Route" and others working on similar cultural routes in postwar Syria.

This chapter addresses current and future tourism opportunities and challenges for Cambridge (UK) and illustrates the potential role of " slow " tourism as an antidote to what the authors previously referred to as the " one-day tourist " problematic (see Wilbert & Duignan, 2015). It outlines how the historic and internationally famous city of Cambridge is considering a reworking of its perspective on tourism management and the development of its destination experience. This process is currently under way with the 2016 introduction of Cambridge's new regional Destination Management Organisation (DMO): " Visit Cambridge and Beyond " (VCB). Decisions that regional tourism policy makers take will partly determine how visitors better engage with the city. Current policy now includes seeking tourists who stay longer and spend more money in the region; and, more importantly, encouraging tourists to visit a wider area than the main city center, where the current main tourist attractions are located. The new DMO and Wilbert and Duignan (2015) argue that it is only through connecting up spaces and places that currently sit in individualized silos out of view of " normal " visitor streams that a " slow tourism " approach can be sought. Through embedding a slow tourism approach, aided in part by the " Slow Phases " (SP) framework proposed in the latter section, regions can better redistribute economic spending derived through the visitor economy toward less visible and more locally based businesses and communities and divert visitor experiences away from the more " spectacular " elements of cities. This is particularly important in light of neoliberal globalization; the ongoing shift toward corporate chains through the " clone town " effect, and the valoriza-tion effects underway in central urban environments. It is in light of these arguments that we must consider Miles' (2010) critique that the increasing appeasement of global consumers as opposed to local and host communities illustrates how public money can tend to support private interests. We argue that the principles associated with slow tourism offer a potential antidote to this problematic, helped through embedding the SP framework. The chapter is the part of the output of a three-year collaborative project (Centrality of Territories) working with six other western European universities on an urban sustainability agenda focused on small cities. Several in-depth

The paper explores the modern experience, secular and religious, of pilgrimage along the via Francigena in the pursuit of well-being through slow mobility, interaction with the landscape and hospitality. Moreover, the locals’ point of view is introduced, particularly that of the hosts, in their deep involvement with the renewed cultural flow. While being stable, they are linked to therapeutic mobility and go beyond the paradigms of commercial tourism. Particularly in the relationship hospitality-pilgrimage, distinctive characters can be outlined between tourist and pilgrim that highlight conflicts on the route. The research, taking place in two rural study areas in Italy, shows how the pilgrimage transit on via Francigena is an opportunity for socio-cultural revitalisation for the marginal areas of the territory. The survey was conducted through the quantitative, qualitative methods and ethnographic research.

[ITA]
Il contributo esplora la moderna esperienza, secolare e religiosa, di pellegrinaggio sulla via Francigena nel perseguimento di benessere attraverso la mobilità lenta, l’interazione con il paesaggio e l’ospitalità. Simultaneamente si introduce il punto di vista dei locali, particolarmente degli ospitalieri, nel loro profondo coinvolgimento con il rinnovato flusso culturale. Essi, pur rimanendo stabili, si legano alla mobilità terapeutica e vanno oltre i paradigmi del turismo commerciale. Particolarmente nel rapporto tra ospitalità e pellegrinaggio, si possono delineare dei caratteri distintivi tra turista e pellegrino che evidenziano incongruenze sul percorso. La ricerca, svolgendosi in due aree studio rurali in Italia, dimostra come il transito di pellegrinaggio sulla via Francigena sia un’opportunità di rivitalizzazione anche socio-culturale per le aree marginali del territorio. L’indagine è stata condotta attraverso il metodo quantitativo, qualitativo e la ricerca etnografica.