Slow Travel and its benefit on the Travel Experience

Slow travel regards a way of holidaymaking that is distinct from the common contemporary forms of tourism, especially in the affluent world. It is often viewed as a response to speed, efficiency and streamlining, that are omnipresent nowadays. Essentially it is about decelerating, taking one’s time to travel and appreciate, as well as experience the journey for what it is. This can be done by reducing the pace of movement, switching the travel mode, altering one’s perception of travel or by shortening the distances between the point of origin and the destination. Important elements of slow travel regard the travel mode, as well as the travel pace, which offer various possible travel experiences, such as immersion, transition and time out. This thesis analyses how different modes of transport constitute the travel experience of slow travel and how it can be enriched. The key concepts of slow travel concern the mode of transport, the travel pace and the travel experience. In order to identify how tourists experience their travel journey from Vienna to the Alps, 7 interviews with Austrian travellers were conducted. The questions regarded how the travellers perceived their travel journey in relation to the transportation mode and the travel pace. Additionally, 6 blogs were analysed, by the performance of a content analysis to complement the research. The analysis revealed the importance of valuing the travel journey in its own regards, as it offers multiple intrinsic values, that remain hidden otherwise. Further, the significance of decelerating and adjusting to the right speed was highlighted in the findings. Further research may focus more in-depth on one of the travel modes studied in this research, perform this study in a different setting, or possibly in a larger area.

Author: L. Demmer (2021)