Re-Branding Alternative Tourism in the Caribbean: The Case for ‘Slow Tourism’

Abstract

Slow tourism represents a progressive genre of alternative tourism for offerings, which are in need of re-branding, through the decentralized medium of remote locales in the Caribbean beyond mass-tourism complexes. We propose this new form of slow tourism as a viable promotional identity for alternative tourist information technologies. A further contribution to this new construct ' s identity is our recognition of the potential for the Caribbean diaspora to participate as stake holders in slow tourism ventures in underdeveloped spaces of the Caribbean that lack the requisite resources and bundle of social and economic advantages that masstourism relies upon. Thus, the unevenness of tourism-driven development in the Caribbean can be countered progressively, and more inclusively, than in times past. In addition to developing the theoretical construct of slow tourism, we offer several prototype examples to demonstrate quality offerings already in praxis.

Slow Tourism: Exploring the discourses

“…Slow tourism offers an alternative to the homogenisation of the holiday experience, destinations and their tourism provision by conventional (mass) tourism and package holidays (Conway and Timms, 2010). Holiday-makers' time pressures have led to the growth of tourism intermediaries exerting commercial pressure on destinations to provide their interpretation of tourists' needs, including presenting overwhelming choices of activity (Woehler, 2004).…”

“…However, destinations adopting principles of slow tourism may reduce the financial leakage to foreign suppliers and so generate more income and employment for local people (Caffyn, 2012;Conway and Timms, 2010). The emphasis on quality, rather than quantity, and on spending longer in a destination may attract different market segments, often the growing group of time-and cash-rich retirees.…”

From “clone towns” to “slow towns”: examining festival legacies

“…Here, it is apparent that leveraging both the tangible and intangible festival aspects can be significant for organisers in developing authenticity (Hawkins and Ryan, 2013), a growing phenomenon in the context of the global visitor economy and central to the touristic experience (Hinch and Higham, 2011). The linkages between grassroots festivals and slower forms of tourism and cultural offerings, as indicated by Conway and Timms (2010), serve as inclusive enclaves where small-scale, local micro and small businesses can be established, supported and coordinated. This 'slow shift' 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 o u r n a l o f P l a c e M a n a g e m e n t a n d D e v e l o p m e n t 13 has, at its heart, the power to promote and support small businesses and preserve local cultures and traditions, as postulated earlier by Mayer and Knox (2006) -where visitor spend can be appropriately diverted away from corporate, global spaces to local spaces that promote slow towns over Clone Towns.…”

Policies and Tourism Branding

“…Jika pada suatu masa mengalami kejenuhan dan mengakibatkan kelesuhan kunjungan turis pada destinasi wisata yang telah branded, maka diperlukan kembali upaya rebranding (Conway & Timms, 2010) sebagai upaya yang tidak terlalu sulit alias mudah dilakukan (Gotham, 2007). Upaya ini harus tetap melibatkan semua pihak yang berkepentingan (Sartori et al, 2012), dalam suatu formasi ideal dan interaktif (Kavaratzis & Kalandides, 2015), dan menggunakan pendekatan terintegrasi secara total (Crockett & Wood, 1999).…”