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SLOVENIA – THE LEADER OF API-TOURISM In 2016, Slovenia was selected as the world’s first sustainable destination, that really tells its green story. Slovenians love their green country, so their concern is focused on preserving natural and cultural treasures, among them apitourism. Apitourism involves the consistent connection of nature and tourism, and follows the trend of travellers demanding green, eco, healthy tourism and wellbeing. As a form of tourism, it deals with culture and traditions of rural communities that could be considered as one of the most sustainable ways of development and niche tourism. The Slovenian long beekeeping tradition, which legally [...]

Icelanders are lucky enough to have plenty of hot water, and they use it for many useful things, like heating their houses and bathing and have done so for quite a long time. There is just something about sitting in hot water in bad weather that sparks a sense of relaxation and enjoyment. While bathing in the hot water Icelanders have always liked doing that with each other, and to this day it is a very important part of the Icelandic culture, to go to the swimming pool, who most are geothermally heated. In Iceland, the weather is too bad for [...]

Can you picture yourself on a beach tasting a delicious ice-cream on a hot sunny day just before diving on paradise-like seawater? Or having a relaxing massage in a thermal water spa? What about learning how to cook a delicious traditional stew of a lost tribe that teaches you some new useful techniques? Or guiding yourself with a map and a compass through a mountain top to reach a remote natural thermal water pool just for you? The idea that experiences are more meaningful and bring more happiness than goods has become widely discussed by tourism scholars and market operators. It [...]

“In our stressed world, wellness tourism is, says Lonely Planet, the industry’s fastest growing sector with a 10% rise [in 2018] making it a plus $500bn market” (The Yucatan Times, 2018).  According to the Global Wellness Institute, the global wellness economy was a $4.5 trillion market in 2018, while in 2017 travellers made 830 million international and domestic wellness trips, representing 17 percent of all tourism expenditures. There are inherent difficulties, however, in defining what wellbeing tourism actually is and what it encompasses – it is apparent that ‘wellness’ and wellbeing’ are often used interchangeably.  The Global Wellness Institute defines wellness [...]

Slow adventure experiences, such as canoeing, stargazing or foraging, are characterised by a slower passage of time, immersion in the natural world and a sense of belonging to small social groups. During slow adventures, the perceptions of time, meaningful moments and a sense of togetherness are choreographed by adventure guides to shape tourists’ wellbeing through immersive experiences, ultimately helping them to re-establish a much-yearned-for connection with nature. The contemporary world has become more mobile, interconnected and fluid, and, despite the expectation that technological change would increase people’s free time, the pace of life has only accelerated. People’s free time has been [...]