Slow tourism in slow countries : the case of Latvia
Slow tourism has emerged as a counter reaction to increased competition and acceleration in today’s world and can be interpreted as both an emerging tourism niche as well as an overall approach to travel. While the literature on slow tourism is still evolving, Latvia with its present tourism marketing brand “Latvia. Best enjoyed slowly” is officially promoted as an appropriate destination for slow tourism and is currently the only destination that has applied the slow philosophy in destination marketing at a national level making the setting of the research unique. This study aimed to get an in-depth understanding of slow tourism, slow tourists and the application of slow philosophy in destination marketing and management. This was achieved by adopting a qualitative approach. Interviews with both the supply and demand side representatives were used to collect data and thematic analysis was employed to analyse them. This study makes the following original contributions. In terms of the theoretical contributions the findings confirm the previous concept of slow tourism as experience-based tourism but argue that slow tourism practices are influenced mainly by external factors especially in relation to mobilities. In particular, the findings show that the mindset of the tourist is the key criteria for identifying slow tourists. This study also suggests that a slow destination brand has the capacity to work not only as a pull factor but also as a push factor especially for local tourists. In addition to the push and pull factors already described in the literature, nature and patriotism were identified as important pull factors for slow tourism. In terms of the policy recommendations the thesis highlights the need to develop a practical toolkit for implementing a slow destination brand. The methodological contribution is to use specific criteria to identify people engaging in slow tourism rather than look for self-identified slow tourists in non-English speaking countries.
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