The rise of "slow travel"

Instead of rushing to many places according to the schedule, you can have leisurely tours, focusing on relaxation with memorable experiences. That is the form of "slow travel " that is currently popular.

Not only in the summer, tourism has become a dish, a "medicine" to heal many people who are tired and busy. Mr. Nguyen Hai Nam (Hoanh Bo ward, Ha Long city) is wondering about registering for a vacation tour for his family. Instead of tours to many places, Mr. Nam decided to register for a tour of MiMiQ Travel (Bai Chay, Ha Long city) for his family. "The family can both go on vacation and have a quiet time to rest at Quan Lan beach. The best thing is to experience the homestay, blend in with the life of the coastal people, cycling up the hill in the morning to watch the sunrise, in the afternoon go fishing, pull nets, rake clams..." - Mr. Nam happily shared.

Guests choose private space to have quiet time for family rest and relaxation.

It can be seen that the trend of balancing experience and reasonable rest is gradually convincing tourists. "In addition to sightseeing, we do not focus on going to many places, to many "bustling" spots, but the focus is on living "slowly", resting, immersing ourselves in nature, life, and local culture..." - MiMiQ Travel representative shared.

In fact, in the post-Covid-19 era, the world has witnessed significant changes in tourism with the need to slow down and enjoy every moment. This trend has become popular in many developed countries in Asia and Europe recently. Even many ancient and culturally rich destinations such as Kyoto (Japan), Venice (Italy) ... limit the number of visitors, which is a typical example of famous "slow tourism".

"Slow travel" is understood as leisurely experiences and sightseeing trips, with a tendency towards relaxation, focusing on deeply exploring the destination, enjoying every moment. Instead of rushing to visit many places, trying every experience, "slow travel" is selective, considering each experience as an opportunity to learn and feel more clearly about the culture, people, cuisine ... of the place they visit.

Tourists experience sea view in Quan Lan.

In Vietnam, "slow travel" has recently been gaining attention and dominating; replacing the "running" trips to many places, going to many places and leaving in the same day, putting pressure on both the destination and the tourists. Mr. Tran Dang An, Director of Halotour Travel (Ha Long City), commented: "Tourists are increasingly tending to slow down, choose and enjoy the most unique features and interesting and attractive destinations. Instead of quantity, we encourage "slow travel", focusing on quality and emotions as the highlight of the tour".

According to Mr. An, not only individually, many travel agencies are currently promoting the superiority of "slow travel", flexibly applying it to itineraries and types. Typically: Trekking tourism to explore natural beauty, new lands; "backpacking" tourism based on adventure, self-discovery; culinary tourism to enjoy local food and culture... In addition, there are other emerging forms, such as: Volunteer tourism through work, projects; tours or trips by bicycle... The common point of the above forms of tourism is that they all invest time, focus on activities, are new, unique and highly entertaining and relaxing.

In fact, the form of "slow tourism" in Quang Ninh has been applied by travel agencies or is part of famous tours in the past, such as: Yen Duc village experience tour; meditation tour, immersing in nature in Yen Tu; experiencing the life of fishermen on Quan Lan and Minh Chau islands...

Health and wellness tourism is one of the few specialized tours being developed to attract visitors to Co To.

Faced with this attraction, many travel agencies and localities have really paid attention, implemented or integrated to create attractive "slow" tours. For example, the healing tour in Co To in the fall and winter when there are few visitors. Tourists can visit pagodas, meditate or practice yoga early on the beach, dive to explore the ocean... Travel to visit villages in the ripe rice season, experience the new rice season in the highlands of Binh Lieu. Or recently, this locality has also designed trekking tours through the forest, picking bamboo shoots or allowing guests to stay and participate in building rammed earth houses with the villagers...

In addition, a fairly popular form is the journey, relaxing holidays, slow living, not noisy but just immersing in nature, enjoying rural life, fishing, picking fruit... at homestays, farmstays... in the suburbs, highlands, ethnic minorities in Ha Long, Binh Lieu, Van Don, Tien Yen...

Although popular, the number of specialized and unique "slow travel" tours is still small and not yet popular. This is something that needs to be promoted because "slow travel" not only helps tourists relax and regain balance, but also creates many experiences, contributing to helping localities develop many new areas and tourism activities.

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