An Innovative Approach in Tourism Sector: Slow City, an Application in Konya (Turkey)

Abstract

Derived from the words 'Citta' which is Italian and 'Slow' which is English, the term 'Cittaslow' means 'Slow City'. Since 2012 the Cittaslow network which has 142 members which is in 24 countries; is a town association which is emerged from Slow food movement to prevent the standardization of the texture, residents and the lifestyle of the city and to prevent the elimination of the city's local features because of globalization. It is an association of towns and cities that want to take part in the world stage by protecting their local identities and features and that don't want to be one of those homogeneous venues created by the globalization. It is seen that the number of domestic and foreign tourists in more that 100 cities is increased in the cities which are awarded as 'Slow City' in world. The most prominent feature of 'Slow Cities Movement' is the revitalization of local identity and the introduction and marketing of touristic destinations. In this study, some districts of the province of Konya (Turkey), within the framework of these criteria have been applied and evaluated in analytic hierarchy process. 