Slow adventure in remote and rural areas: creating and narrating the tourism product

In postmodernity, characterised by fast-paced life, social alienation, workaholism and prevalent electronic entertainment, people have become somewhat detached from the natural environment and other people. For this reason, to overcome a feeling of disconnectedness, and get life back to its slower, immersive pace, a number of global initiatives for slowing down have arisen – slow food, slow cities or slow tourism, to name but a few. In a way, slow activities attempt to strengthen or restore a local, place-specific pattern of living, as well as allow opportunities for the generation of rich, immersive and more meaningful experiences for the consumer.
More recently, the concept of “slow adventure” has been introduced by Varley and Semple (2015). Grounding it in the Nordic philosophy of friluftsliv, as the basic and simple activity of just being, or dwelling, in nature, they suggested four critical elements: time, nature, passage and comfort, all of which suggest deeper appreciation of and bodily engagement with the environment. Commercially, the concept of slow adventure is being increasingly used. By way of example, the tourism industry in northern Europe has been successful in taking the concept of slow adventure further through a transnational project Slow Adventure in Northern Territories (SAINT, 2015). The project sought to raise awareness of the concept and introduce contemporary consumers to an alternative dimension of “adventure.” As an outcome of the project, travel providers are now increasingly offering slow adventure activities in order to bring the marginal or remote areas closer to visitors through activities as simple as star gazing, open water swimming, creel fishing, wild camping or cooking foraged foods. In so doing, an emphasis is placed on authenticity and sustainability of the local community, natural environment and cultural heritage, all being vital principles of the slow adventure philosophy and its ethos.