A slow tourist in the Basque Coast Geopark (Spain)

Abstract

Slow tourism is a way of doing tourism which has been revalorised because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The protection and promotion of the territories from a slow tourism perspective allow travellers to explore the relationships between people, places and practices from a more sustainable and regenerative way. This research aims to explore the slow tourism motivations in relation to a geotourism destination. Drawing from an autoethnography design informed by a case study, the paper analyses the Basque Coast Geopark, in Northern Spain, as an illustrative example of the drivers of slow tourism experiences. Results illustrate, with textual descriptions and visual materials, how and why the motivations of discovery, engagement, escape, novelty-seeking, relaxation and self-reflection are manifested. This research demonstrates that the slow tourism factors are accentuated in a geotourism destination, which is also useful to analyse the relationships between the motivations. Theoretical and practical implications for tourism management and marketing are described.