Field Trips > Field trip # 3: Around the Puy Mary Mount : Slow tourism as a lever for local development in the Cantal Mountains

Coordinator: Luc Mazuel, (Geographer, senior lecturer at VetAgro Sup)

Keywords: slow tourism, volcanic landscapes, « grands sites de France », ECOLABEL

Short description: The concept of « Slow economy » concerns many types of activities. It is not so much the idea of going slowly, but rather that of finding the “right time”, of giving back time, above all, of giving priority to quality, whatever the area. Far from being simply a reduction in speed, it incorporates the search of meaning, of self-realization and of harmony with nature in accordance with biorhythms.

Very early on, tourism took control of this notion for defining « a tourism with a slow rhythm, guarantor of self-awareness, with low emissions of CO2, Synonymous with patience, peacefulness, deep discoveries, improvement of knowledge and cultural achievements” (Babou et al., 2009), a definition to which could be added an epicurean dimension.

Through a combination of visits to slow tourism projects (lodges of the “Pêcher lake”, Puy Mary “grand site” label) and meetings with stakeholders living in a mountainous valley at the foot of one of the highest summits of the Cantal volcano, ((Fabrique Aventures = association of full nature touristic operators, Alta Terra & Fortuniès = lodging and activities with the European ECOLABEL ), this field trip will aim to show how the fact of thinking with a long term perspective, and with the will to find time once again, can release creativity and incentives for resilience and collaboration whilst also encouraging self-government and citizen empowerment that generate a new economy of wealth, not centred on the  dogma of growth.

• Flyer of Field Trip 3