013 - Old Men Playing Cards

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Like a Tornatore-movie: Even though the exteriors have changed and turned into the future of today, these indigenous old gentlemen somehow remain part of the past.

Locals who have lived here for generations can provide something very different from today’s mass-tourism: you can be a fly on the wall, watching them, soaking in the olden days, relaxing.

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WHAT CAN YOU DO?

Slow tourism and sustainable tourism are very important terms today. And behind these terms there are vital and fundamental concepts every traveller has to digest and understand before starting off.

Mass tourism in the past decades generated a lot of jobs and opportunities worldwide for locals hosting travelers , and unquestionably served as a bridge between nations and cultures, but the scope of tourism and the general attitude of tourists has reached a point where it already backfired having negative effects.

Travelling with a conscious mindset toward local cultures and people means you mingle, you participate in everyday life, you avoid global brands and visit local stores, local enterprises.

The concept means you fundamentally care for your hosting culture, you help preserving it as it is instead of exploiting it to your benefit and to the local people’s expense.

Learn more about sustainable tourism on the corresponding UNESCO website:

• http://www.unesco.org/education/tlsf/mods/theme_c/mod16.html

Visiting Italy as a “slow tourist” is a great way to explore this beautiful country. Read more about how they are thinking about this and how both you and locals can benefit from it:

• http://www.slowtourism-italia.org/en/aboutus/