Checking out from daily life, holidays are about rejuvenation. We head away to release built-up stress, to seek a change of scene and learn from unfamiliar experiences.
Yet today, this simple concept has transformed into an industry of box-ticking, of touring to say ‘I’ve done that’, and taking photographs to prove it. We now travel to purchase flimsy trinkets, hop countries and garner ‘likes’. As a result, we come home and often find ourselves more exhausted than when we left. Sure, we saw, but we saw so briefly we can’t remember. Yes, we bought, but then we can’t recall where.
Slow travel is about opting for indepth experiences rather than maximising sites seen; it’s about getting to know new cultures and learning their perspective. When slowing down we avoid travel fatigue, we foster rich memories and we actually get the chance to relax and do nothing at all.