Slow Tourism’ quality label for tourism businesses is issued only after having completed the Self-Evaluation Test, a tool through which each entrepreneur identifies the already-implemented best practices, committing himself/herself to adopt all Slow Tourism requirements within a specific period of time.
Through this quality label tourists/travelers have the opportunity to consciously choose for their vacations tourism businesses that actively participate in the continuous improvement of the quality of the hospitality, as well as in environmental protection.
1. Download the Tourism Welcoming Manual – to be chosen based on the typology of the services offered by the business – which includes the necessary requirements to obtain the Slow Tourism Quality Self-Evaluation; 2. Read the Slow Tourism Quality Self-Evaluation System, created by the Association to promote continuous improvement of the quality of the hospitality and services offered to tourists while reducing the impact on the environment caused by the normal management of the business. 3. Register – during registration, you’ll be sent back to the old site. 4. Click on Evaluation to complete the Self-Evaluation test – with or without restoration. A score is assigned to each question; at the end of the test you will see the percentage. 5. The same score will be automatically sent to Slow Tourism. Based on it, your tourism business will be assigned to one of the following categories: Green, Orange and Yellow. Soon you will be contacted by email by our staff who will support you during the collection of the information necessary to create your own page. 6. Pay the annual member fee of 180€. By email we will inform you about the details for bank transfers while publishing the webpage dedicated to your business and activating all the mentioned services. Once having completed all 6 steps, your businesses will be officially part of the certified Slow Tourism enterprise. This way you will have more opportunities to get in contact with those travelers who, with increasing frequency, wish to organize their vacations in welcoming and high-quality businesses. Tourism businesses WITH restaurant service: 1. Download the Hospitality Manual for farmhouses, hotels, historical hotels and country house Tourism businesses WITHOUT restaurant service: 2. Download the Hospitality Manual for B&Bs, Rooms, Holiday house, hostels, diffuse hotels, campsites and houseboats. The Self-Evaluation test is a tool developed to support the improvement of the quality of hospitality and services offered to travelers and the reduction of the environmental impact due to a regular management of the tourism business itself. The Self-Evaluation Test concerns three sectors: You can find the 6 easy steps to take the online test on the section below “HOW TO BECOME A MEMBER”. The results will be sent to the entrepreneur by email. This way, the tourism business will know which of the following quality labels it will receive based on the Self-Evaluation system: GREEN The business obtained a score between 85% and 100% of the requirements requested by the Quality Regulations foreseen for the category ORANGE The business obtained a score between 61% and 85% of the requirements requested by the Quality Regulations foreseen for the category. During the next 3 years the tourism business engages itself in complying with all the necessary requirements to acquire the GREEN label. YELLOW The business obtained a score between 42% and 60% of the requirements requested by the Quality Regulations foreseen for the category. During the next 2 years the tourism business engages itself in complying with all the necessary requirements to acquire the ORANGE label. The Self-Evaluation test must be renewed every year and the result is published online on the web page that Slow Tourism creates in its website for all the tourism businesses that participate in the network. During the test only one single answer can be given. It is possible to answer: 1. Valorization of the activities implemented by tourism businesses to safeguard the natural and cultural resources of the territory. Through two dedicated promotional pages, one in Italian the other in English, a photo gallery, a link to the business website, online publishing of the self-certification test and the section “Well done” we promote the uniqueness of the business while highlighting activities carried out capable of increasing sustainable and responsible tourism. 2. Inclusion in the Authentic Slow Tourism Guide, wich will be presented during the event scheduled in Italy in Turin from September 25 to 27 2015. A collection of useful information and photos to promote the knowledge of all those companies which help make the tourism experience not only sustainable, but authentic. The Guide will enable those working in the industry – managers of B&Bs, Hotels, local product producers, consortia, restaurants, etc. – to stand out and qualify themselves. To see a preview of the cover click here . 3. Sharing experiences to promote welcoming tourism. The Director of our online newspaper will interview the owner of the tourism businesses to make the experiences gained in the sector known and to describe the services that make the facility welcoming and sustainable. 4. Promotion on the il Daily Slow. Tourism enterprises have a chance to become bloggers of the il Daily Slow, writing articles, publishing photos and videos related to its territory and the initiatives and events not to be missed. Through the Il Daily Slow, they can make known innovative activities, natural and cultural resources, travel’s experiences generally achievable in the place where the company is located, is a way to get in touch with so many tourists and travelers who may be interested in staying at structure. 5. Continuous spreading of information through our social network and newsletter. We promote tourism businesses and their initiatives through the Slow Tourism profile – Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest – and through the newsletter we send each month to our members. 6. Space in the Slow Minute section. We publish tourism packages offers and initiatives proposed by the tourism businesses in the Slow Minute section on our website, punctually spread to travelers. 7. Inclusion in sustainable travel packages. We involve tourism businesses in sustainable tourism packages created in cooperation with Associations and Tour Operators. 8. Counseling and training in the sustainable tourism sector. Tourism businesses can rely on the support provided by an advanced and active network, ready to help entrepreneurs in the fulfillment of strategic choices that they are more and more frequently being asked to make. Tourism businesses participating in the network have privileged access to Training Classes on the Quality of Hospitality. Slow Tourism is aimed at transferring renewal capacities in the creation and offer of tourism products to be promoted (in Italy and abroad), also through the tour Operators with whom we cooperate. Do you run a tourism business? Why participate in Slow Tourism? Because it is an Association that works with tourism businesses to promote the territory, natural resources and local culture, to improve the hospitality levels and the quality of the offered services. It does so because it is only through a healthy and welcoming territory it is capable of increasing tourists’ interest. The number of tourists increases when a territory becomes a desired destination, and tourism businesses are capable of offering authentic experiences. This goal is reached only through solid, long-lasting cooperation. For this reason, Slow Tourism chooses not to do any booking, nor does it ask for percentages of reservations. I do not get tourists through Slow Tourism. Is it possible? Slow Tourism is primarily a Quality Mark to be used directly from the property to qualify and distinguish itself in the market. Do I recognize tourists interested in sustainable tourism through the Passport? Even though we strongly advise people to use it, the Slow tourism passport is rarely used by our members since, at the moment, it has a mainly symbolic value. It is by increasing the participation level in the initiatives promoted by the Association, such as, for example, the 10% discount for travelers possessing the passport that tourism businesses contribute to making it an efficient promotional tool. What makes the Slow Tourism website different from other online tourism portals? Being present in Slow Tourism’s website should not be considered an alternative to other websites that do bookings and reservations. It should instead be considered as a choice to be recognized as part of a movement that promotes the quality reached by tourism business engaged in the protection of the environment and the valorization of local cultures. Through Slow Tourism, a business becomes an essential part of the tourism experience that travelers go through when they visit a new territory. I have an idea, a project to work on to improve the attractiveness level of my territory. Can I contact Slow Tourism? For tourism entrepreneurs who participate in the network, Slow Tourism wants to provide its support to make them promoters of the territory in which they are located. Slow Tourism sustains the development of ideas that aim at increasing the tourism attractiveness of a territory. Anyone who wishes to cooperate with us is welcome: we will share our knowledge and experience to successfully realize a project. Why should I participate by writing in the Daily Slow? Because, through our participative newspaper it is possible to spread information and speak about your territory and its typicality. Only a local can tell anecdotes, stories and traditions; they can explain the reasons for which t is better to visit an area during a specific time of the year and not another. Writing on the Daily Slow should be done for pleasure, but also as a means to raise tourism interest towards a specific territory. The procedure to verify the requirements implemented by the Slow Tourism members foresees the following:
The interview will be shared and published on the web through the networks of the Association.
Joining Slow Tourism means using the mark acquired for the communication that the entrepreneur realizes independently through other channels, such as portals born in order to give visibility on the web, booking and more.
The major feature of Slow Tourism is therefore to be a suitable tool to make known the commitment of the structure in providing sustainable and welcoming holidays. Slow Tourism is an association with its institutional portal which brings together tourism businesses committed to continuous improvement of quality and hospitality.
To facilitate direct knowledge of the activities carried out by the tourist facilities associated with, the Association provides the Il Daily Slow, participatory newspaper online that brings tourists to the unique offers and proposals from companies.