A Review of Sustainability, Tourism, and the Marketing Opportunity for Adopting the Cittàslow Model in Pacific Small Islands

Abstract

This article explores an important niche of destination marketing and branding for Pacific small islands and suggests the utilization of the concept of Slow Tourism, modeled on the Cittaslow (Slow City) movement. The article begins with an analytical examination of the different elements, processes, and relationships involved in evaluating the slow philosophy as a worthwhile approach towards destination marketing and the sustainable tourism agenda in Pacific small islands. The academic discourse on the Cittaslow movement unquestionably offers an open discussion, but it has yet to address the application of this concept in small islands in the Pacific. Much of the current literature on the Cittaslow approach has focused on a European context, while some researchers have paid attention to the growing number of Cittaslow destinations in the Asia Pacific region. Following a review, this article seeks to fill the gap in the literature by not only emphasizing the importance of the movement, but it also examines the view that, the growing number of communities around the world adopting the slow philosophy, gives credibility to the adaptability of the movement in a variety of geographical areas. In doing so, this article contributes to the body of tourism management, marketing, and branding scholarship. This article also incorporates the varied and varying understandings about slow living, Slow Tourism, as well as sustainable tourism that are useful to develop models for marketing/branding places with specific potentialities and attributes such as small island destinations.