The Way of Slow Travel Articles, tips, and stories about Slow Travel
Travel website Pink Pangea has an interesting article from Abbie Synan listing 6 reasons why Slow Travel is the best type of travel.
The one point I find myself in disagreement with Abbie is on voluntourism. I think there are plenty of great ways to give back to a community, but voluntourism itself is not such a great venue. This Guardian article explains the problem. Instead, Slow travel is a way to dodge the problems of voluntourism by getting involved in a local community in a more meaningful, personal way. For instance, one can apply for a posting with UN Volunteers and join development efforts that are more meaningful and impactful.
But all in all, it’s a quick, interesting read. Abbie does touch on the fact that you don’t need months of vacations at a time to travel Slow. She also touches on issues of sustainable tourism, which I think is a good point to touch upon.
Hi Daniel, I appreciate your perspective on the story. I’d love to clarify that for me “voluntourism” is more about giving back to a secondary community other than where you live – which also goes along with how you describe getting involved with the local community. I think much like Eco-tourism, it can have a wide range of meanings and just like any new emerging market I think research should be done before volunteering anywhere, making sure the organization that you are working with is reputable and produces positive results. I’ve been going to the same area for the past three years working on a wildlife project and the organization from my perspective has seen success in having day helpers or short term volunteers often taking time out of their vacations to serve.
There are several articles that talk about the good and the bad about voluntoursm and I like articles that weigh the pros and cons and talk about how to be well informed:
http://www.smh.com.au/it-pro/gap-year-the-pros-and-cons-of-voluntourism-20141220-1282f6.html
I think we agree, but in my opinion even meaningful and volunteering making an impact can be seen as voluntourism 🙂
Glad you liked my story, I’ve been traveling for a couple of years now and my turn towards slow travel lifestyle has been so much more rewarding!
Hi Abbie!
Thanks for your comment! I understand what you mean about voluntourism. I guess under this definition, I’ve done it myself, so I have to agree about its value.
Happy trails, fellow Slow traveler! And thanks again for the article! 🙂