nanotourism




definition
characteristics

finding EXPERIENCES
creating CASE STUDIES

education
exhibitions
publications
talks
media

about
team


nanotourism.org
is an open research
platform to share,
promote and grow
nanotourism as a
collective awareness.



Mark



nanotourism is a constructed term describing a creative critique to the current environmental, social and economic downsides of conventional tourism, as a participatory, locally oriented, bottom-up alternative.




Defining nanotourism
runs twofold:



by finding and learning from existing experiences and by identifying and creating new site-specific case studies.

      


nanotourism ––
the term

naming it nanotourism is a useful way of making this activity more visible and subject to discussion and debate. It works as an association to nanotechnology as organisation of matter at the atomic and molecular scale, essentially by bottom-up construction method. Pre-fix nano in nanotourism implies bottom-up processes, not visible to a human eye, as new operational models of tourism.



tourist –– nanotourist

The term tourist is increasingly used pejoratively, to imply a shallow interest in the cultures or environments. No one wants to be a tourist any more, but prefers to be a  traveller, passenger, guest... Instead of superficial one-way observation, one participates, exchanges or co-creates in a two-way relationship and evolves to nanotourist.

Involve, participate and become a nanotourist everywhere, even in your own city, town, street or home!




nanotourism –– as a tool

nanotourism operates as a social tool to stimulate mutual interaction between provider and user by co-creation or exchange of knowledge. It is not about scale, but is a projected ability to construct responsible experiences from the bottom-up, using local resources.


nanotourism is beyond tourism, it is more an attitude to improve specific everyday environments and to open up new local economies.

nanotourism is critical, but primarily bottom-up. Therefore it works as an association to nanotechnology as organisation of matter at the atomic and molecular scale, essentially by bottom-up construction method. Pre-fix nano in nanotourism implies bottom-up processes, not visible to a human eye, as new operational models of tourism.





nanotourism ––challenges

“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”
––
Buckminster Fuller

What are the challenges of nanotourism? How can nanotourism improve the world?

Driven by Participatory Action Research principles, these questions activate the systematic research and design process of nanotourism, challenging visitors and locals to deepen their knowledge, experience and understanding of the world.


After decades of a booming tourism industry with wide impacts on territories and economies all over the world, are there smaller-scale, non-intrusive ways of promoting tourism?









– Aljoša Dekleva and Tina Gregorič, 2014