WELCOME
You are most welcome in the HTHIC Heritage & Slow TourismLAB. The LAB brings together researchers, professionals, policymakers and business owners to explore the varying meanings and practices of Slow and Slowness.
The LAB is a spin-off of HTHIC, the Heritage, Tourism and Hospitality, International Conference and an independent think tank. We discuss Slow Tourism, Slow Travel, Slow Food Travel, Slow Adventure, Slow Retail, Slow Experience, Slow Art, Slow Journalism, Cittaslow and other Slow Destinations and the ways in which Slow might contribute to the conservation of natural and cultural heritage.
SLOW stands for Thinking Slow, deliberate and rational. Slowness is one of the aspects of contemplation and pilgrimage. The Slow of the Slow movement, which originated in Italy in the late 1980s, is derived from the ancient adage “festina lente” (Latin), “hasten slowly”.
Slow is associated with the pursuit of quality of life, hospitality and the well-being of residents and visitors, respect for natural and cultural heritage, protection of biodiversity, short supply chains, innovation for sustainability, appreciating a sense of place, social equality and inclusiveness…
But how to realise all of these ambitions in tourism?
an impression >
ORGANISING THIS LAB
Available now: “Virtual Events Management: Theory and Methods for Event Management and Tourism”. Chapter 2 of this book on “Planning and managing a virtual event” was written by Burcin Kalabay Hatipoglu and Karin Elgin-Nijhuis and includes a case study on the Heritage and Slow TourismLAB. read more >
DO GET IN TOUCH if you have relevant research results or valuable experience to share, wish to be notified about upcoming meetings in the LAB and/or wish for us to contribute to your strategy or event. read more >
The HTHIC Heritage & Slow TourismLAB is brought to you by Elgin & Co.
They gratefully acknowledge the financial support of
DutchCulture | Centre for international cooperation
for the 2020 LAB meetings whose success encouraged them to organise more opportunities for the exchange of knowledge and experience.
They are also grateful for the collaboration with
Dutch National Committee of ICOMOS | International Council on Monuments and Sites.
SLOW TIDINGS
Slow Art Day 2025
Slow Down. Reflect. Discover. Engage.
Saturday, 5 April 2025 will be Slow Art Day. Slow Art Day is a global event with a simple mission: help more people discover for themselves the joy of looking at and loving art.
More than 200 churches, museums and other institutes around the world offer Slow Art events. For more information about this 15th edition of Slow Art Day, how to join as a venue, and events in your neighbourhood, read more >
[Posted 25 january 2025]
Terra Madre 2024
Terra Madre Salone del Gusto is organised by Slow Food International, the City of Turin and the Piedmont Region. You are welcome in Parco Dora, Turin, from Thursday, September 26 to Monday, September 30, 2024, to explore how food can restore our relationship with nature. There are more than 180 events, a market, street kitchens, food trucks, wine bars, and craft breweries. read more >
[Posted 1 August 2024]
Consider a Slow holiday
Slow-Adventure.com aims to offer a better type of adventure travel that helps restore the natural balance between people and nature and enriches the lives of all involved. The company empowers local communities to choose how visitors engage with their natural environments, and all slow adventures are designed and delivered by our local experts. By choosing Slow Adventure you contribute directly to the regeneration of the area you visit and become part of the slow adventure movement. read more >
[Posted 10 January 2024]
Slow Adventure Ltd launched
Do visit the newly-launched booking platform slow-adventure.com to learn more about the breath-taking adventures on offer Scotland, Sweden and Italy. Slow Adventure Ltd was born to continue to innovate and grow the research and development work done on slow tourism by the Slow Adventure in Northern Territories (SAINT) project. read more >
[Posted 30 April 2022]
“Reflections on the Earth Markets and sustainability”
Interview with LAB co-founder Burçin Hatipoğlu, published on the Slow Food/ Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity website (30 April 2021). With the LAB meeting of 7 April which focused on the Earth Markets, we contributed to the Terra Madre Salone del Gusto 2020-2021 programme. read the article >
[Posted 9 April 2021]
“The Journey Inside”
Webinar on Modern Pilgrimage
On 7 May 2021, Business/Visit Finland offers the webinar “Matka Itseen – Webinaari Modernista Pyhiinvaelluksesta”. Karin Elgin-Nijhuis will be contributing to this webinar and speak about Slow Travel and the Heritage & Slow TourismLAB. The majority of the presentations will be in Finnish. read more >
[Posted 9 April 2021]
UNWTO
UNWTO reported on 28 January 2021 that “Experts foresee growing demand for open-air and nature-based tourism activities, with domestic tourism and ‘slow travel’ experiences gaining increasing interest.” read more >
[Posted 11 February 2021]
European Tourism Manifesto
European Tourism Manifesto, an alliance of more than 60 European public and private organisations, published its final paper on 9 February.
The title of the paper is “Call for action: Accelerate social and economic recovery by investing in Sustainable Tourism Development”. It offers “a non-exhaustive list of concrete investment proposals and reforms in Travel and Tourism, that would contribute to making EU countries’ economies more resilient”.
The investments are “grouped according to the EU flagship initiatives listed in the European Commission’s Guidance to Member States on Recovery and Resilience Plans and can be integrated in the national recovery plans”.
Slow Tourism is a recurring theme in this paper. read more >
[Posted 11 February 2021]