Since before Covid, multiple travel magazines have covered the latest trend of slow tourism: a type of travel that puts quality before quantity, focusing on the visited communities and the country’s local culture; through experiences and food. As the tourism industry grows, seeing people vacation for longer and truly prioritize their time-off during the year, many people wonder how travel will change and I honestly believe that slow-travel is the future. Slow-travel hasn’t become trendy just because people don’t feel like “ticking boxes off a list” anymore. This type of travel is about many things: supporting sustainability, fighting overtourism and even improving people’s health. 

If you decide to go on a slow trip, you will probably be taking public transportation a lot; including trains and buses to less common destinations. You will travel within the same country, discovering places that you didn’t even know existed. You will get to know the local people and observe how their daily lives unfold. You will enjoy every second of your itinerary, not only the destinations, but also the journeys. And on top of all that, you will get to spend time in nature, away from the crowds. 

But is it really a new trend? Europe is filled with ancient merchants’ ways and pilgrimages walked by our ancestors. The routes allow you to explore countries in a unique way, truly seeing how locals live, and feeling engaged with the community. Many paths were cleared to connect big trading centers, now called “tourist hotspots”, and in order to do so, they developed through beautiful countryside for miles and miles. If you choose this type of trip you will save money, and if planned properly, it can also be “short” (and “slow”). In fact, slow-travel doesn’t necessarily mean taking a whole month off to rent an AirBnb in the Italian countryside. Not everyone has that kind of opportunity and it might even sound super boring to some. 

The point of slow tourism is to travel better, preserve the culture of small realities, choose environmentally-friendly options, fight the speed at which the world is evolving and society is changing. This shouldn’t be a new trend but rather a realization that sometimes going fast isn’t recommended… and our ancestors perhaps knew that. Book your next trip with the intention of learning something and feeling like you are doing some good in the world. And if you don’t know where to begin – well, you are in the right place!