Issue link: https://www.balharbourdigital.com/i/1525926
G U T T E R C R E D I T T E E K AY Explora has reimagined how it spends time in port: often, ships will overnight at anchor in key destinations, from Monaco to Mykonos. better experience the local vibe and culture of a place after other daytrippers have departed: One in five of our passengers, Di Palma says, will go out for dinner or a drink that evening in town, unafraid of missing a departure time. Explora's itineraries are deliberately modular, which allows this approach: travelers can sign up in batches of seven days on a single ship, and will see no repeated ports for three weeks. This encourages them to spend longer on board—a smart business decision, of course, but also one that recognizes that travelers now want to savor the experience rather than gulp it down. Other companies are launching longer, slower itineraries expressly aimed at those able to disengage for three weeks or more. See the Sabbatical Buyout package for 30 days offered by Casa Chameleon Las Catalinas in Costa Rica, for example, which includes a dedicated assistant, private chef, car and ATV, plus one day per week dedicated to learning a new skill: sea fishing, perhaps, or cooking local dishes. The 34-day Great Indian Adventure from Wild Frontiers includes nights spent idling on the backwaters of Kerala on a private houseboat. The Swiss Alps-based Tschuggen Grand Hotel has its Moving Mountains program, expressly aimed at pushing guests to immerse themselves in the surrounding landscape; it includes foraging excursions in the forests for berries and mushrooms, or fishing in the mountain lakes. Travel specialist Goway firm reports that the average length of stay booked by its travelers has increased by three days, versus pre-pandemic numbers, and most now book for 11 days. And the relaunch of the Belmond-operated Eastern & Oriental Express train through Singapore and Malaysia, of course, is another sign of slowing down; rival Orient Express, of course, will soon join the fray, with an entirely new fleet of trains. The Italian region of Emilia-Romagna announced a Year of Slow Travel in 2019, aimed at encouraging tourists to explore its quieter corners, mostly relying on historic pilgrimage paths that were first established centuries ago by Holy Land–bound pilgrims. Routes include the 89-mile via Francigena, or the 40 miles or so of the via degli Dei before it crosses into Tuscany. Between 2021, when Covid-era border closures were lifted, and 2023, there was a 20-percent increase in usage, and four new paths have been added this year. Walk Japan specializes in small group walking tours, allowing guests to soak up the landscape around them, as on the Shio-no-Michi: Salt Road trip, which follows mountain trails and hikes that shadow one of Japan's old overland trading routes in Nagano and Niigata Prefectures. The Slow Travel concept is particularly well suited to Asia, at least according to Catherine Heald of ultraluxe specialist Remote Lands, which specializes in the area. "Japan can be so spiritual, and people want to take more mindful journeys. You don't have to go to every temple in Kyoto, or every garden: go to a few and spend more time in them. You can't see them all anyway—it's impossible—so it's better to do a smaller number really well." In the pandemic's wake, Heald has seen a transformation of her clients' asks, with far fewer focused on what she calls "touch and go": box-checking visits that barely scratch the surface. Now able to work remotely more readily, and keener to engage with the world for longer, clients now stay around 20 percent longer in cities like Tokyo, Seoul, or Bangkok than just five years ago. Heald wrangles experiences on Aman Private Jet Expeditions, too, and has adjusted guests' overnights in the same way. Clients stay at least three nights in any place, rather than two, allowing them to feel less rushed and more relaxed. In Rajasthan, for example, that extra night unlocks the chance to go to Sariska National Park, perhaps, or rekindle a long lost yoga practice. It's an idea, and an ideal, that Penny Watson endorses wholeheartedly. The journalist and author is glad to see the rest of the industry catching up to the early principles of Slow Travel. "It used to be crazy what you would try and squeeze into a trip," she says, "But now we're far more aware that sitting around without 'doing anything' is good for us, too."