Buổi 37: Reading – Multiple choice trên văn bản học thuật (du lịch chậm)

The rise of slow travel

(Bài đọc tự viết; nhà nghiên cứu, khảo sát và số liệu là giả định.)

A For many years, the typical holiday involved visiting as many famous places as possible in a short time. Tourists would fly to a city, see the main sights in two days and then move on to the next destination. Recently, however, a different approach has been gaining popularity. Known as “slow travel”, it encourages people to stay longer in one place, use trains or buses rather than planes, and spend time getting to know local people and culture.

B Supporters of slow travel give several reasons for its appeal. The first is environmental: travelling overland usually produces a smaller carbon footprint than flying, especially over short distances. The second is personal. Many travellers say that rushing from one attraction to another leaves them more tired than when they set off. By staying in one area, they can relax, follow a more flexible itinerary and enjoy everyday experiences, such as shopping at a local market or taking a cooking class.

C Tourism researcher Dr Elena Marsh has interviewed more than two hundred slow travellers. She found that most were not young backpackers, as she had expected, but people in their forties and fifties, many of whom were able to work online while travelling. “For this group,” she says, “the ability to work from anywhere has changed what a holiday means. They are not escaping their lives for a week – they are living somewhere else for a month.”

D Slow travel may also benefit the places that tourists visit. When visitors stay longer, they tend to spend more money in small, locally owned businesses rather than in international hotel chains. In some popular cities, where streets are overcrowded at certain times of year, slow travellers are also more likely to visit less famous neighbourhoods and to travel outside the peak season.

E However, Dr Marsh warns against seeing slow travel as a complete solution. Long stays are only possible for people with enough time and money, and those who work online. Most employees still have only a few weeks of holiday each year. Moreover, if large numbers of visitors rent apartments for a month or more, local residents may find it harder to afford housing. “Slow travel is a positive trend,” she concludes, “but it needs to be managed carefully, like any form of tourism.”

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