This has been the era of cheap, fast travel, with 14% growth in holidays by air over the past five years. However rising demand has led to growing congestion, the ‘war on terror’ has imposed security checks and delays, and concerns have grown over the effect of CO₂ emissions on the environment. This presents opportunities for ‘slow travel’ modes to entice disgruntled fliers with an attractive cocktail of space, comfort, green credentials, efficiency and a revival of the ‘pleasures of the journey’.

This has been the era of cheap, fast travel, with 14% growth in holidays by air over the past five years. However rising demand has led to growing congestion, the ‘war on terror’ has imposed security checks and delays, and concerns have grown over the effect of CO₂ emissions on the environment. This presents opportunities for ‘slow travel’ modes to entice disgruntled fliers with an attractive cocktail of space, comfort, green credentials, efficiency and a revival of the ‘pleasures of the journey’.

Green altruism alone will not convert people from planes to trains and boats, and there is still plenty of life in the low-cost airline model. But in the long run the likelihood of high oil prices may spell the end of bargain basement flights and drive up demand for alternative modes.

This report provides an overview of overseas slow travel, investigating the core market factors, strengths and weaknesses, company developments/innovations, consumer dynamics, and likely future trends.

Main report themes:

General holiday trends. Who goes where on holiday?

How people’s holiday intentions are being influenced in the face of changing economic conditions.

The demographics of slow travel and attitudes towards using different travel modes. The key selling points of rail and ferry travel.

The key companies involved in the slow travel sector and their market share, available products, services and innovations.

The impact of European high speed rail infrastructure, the Railteam alliance and “open access” in cross-border rail travel from 2010 on the slow travel market.

How competitive are overseas rail and self-drive options with air travel in terms of time, cost and more intangible factors?

Where will future growth in the slow travel sector be likely to occur?