The way we travel is slowly but surely changing. One of the major reasons for this slow travel popularity is burnout. People who have lived a fast-paced lifestyle for years and spent most of their time on screens want the opposite of travel - restorative trips instead of exhausting ones.
Slow travel is not measured by the distance traveled but on what a place has to offer. Travelers want to experience a place deeply, then the short stays in different cities become longer ones with the lives of the locals and the places around them connecting. Just as if we were to travel backwards in time, the main reason of traveling in those days was to present oneself and learn from the different cultures, not simply to get and to leave the world.
Slow travel is a method to prevent yourself from absorbing the hassle and noise of flying from one tourist location to another.
Another reason which contributes to the popularity of slow travel is cultural curiosity. The people who are driving the trend are not merely visiting the places for the sake of visiting but are rather treating the whole experience as a big nourishment for the soul and body. They don’t only go to expensive tourist restaurants but also check out hidden gems in the neighborhood. They shun the bus tours and embark on foot. They talk to the locals and discover the places where there are no tourists. The regular sightseeing may never become just as intimate and emotionally strong as these encounters do.
The slow travel movement has been on the same course with the rising awareness of sustainability. The environmental cost of traveling via frequent flights, of having over-packed itineraries, and of visiting very populated places is significantly high. On the one hand, the travelers' longer stays at a destination will lead to a smaller ecological footprint and more direct interaction with the local economy. Responsible tourism is promoted by such factors as tourist accommodations, small market shopping, and public transportation.
Besides, the increased acceptance of remote work has further contributed to the trend. People working in locations without any restrictions and who are granted flexible hours are increasingly to stay in one place for weeks or even months. The digital nomad visas offered by some countries are permitting the workers to fly to their destination and at the same time allowing them to travel more frequent and even longer since their trips are now part of their everyday life instead of a short vacation.
Fast traveling is usually not considered as an attractive option at all. On the contrary, the person traveling in this way gets to know the different cultures and places more deeply. He will not consider the movement as just ticking a list of places to see. Rather, it will be like an artfully told story slowly revealing itself through the different scenes.
Traveling the slowly has completely overruled the concept of spending less money or going to a remote place just to satisfy one's curiosity. Long, slow, and deep immersion into the native culture has lately become the most rewarding way to travel. People disconnecting, connecting, and discovering the real thing is not a case of slow travel being a trend, but rather a modern-day adventurers' mindset.
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