An investigation on the relationship between slowness level of Cittaslow perceived by tourists, voluntary simplicity lifestyle and environmental sensitivity: the case of Cittaslow Seferihisar

Abstract

ABSTRACT Urban and town life, which has begun to disappear due to globalization, has been replaced by megacities, people's lifestyles are changing day by day, food culture, daily social activities, and many other areas are under the influence of speed. The slow city movement has emerged as a new movement against this speed and uniformity. The primary purpose of this research is to develop a scale to determine the perceived slowness level of slow cities from the tourist perspective. It is also aimed to analyze the level of slowness perceived by tourists regarding slow cities and the variance of these evaluations according to their willingness to adopt a voluntarily simple life and environmental sensitivities, in the case of Seferihisar, Turkey. It has been revealed that the perceived slowness level of Seferihisar is high, and there is a positive relationship between the slowness perceptions of the tourists and their voluntary simplicity (VS) lifestyles and environmental sensitivities. Also, it has been determined that the profiles of people who have different perceptions of slowness levels differ in their VS levels, environmental sensitivity, and socio-demographic characteristics. Determining the slowness levels of slow cities from the tourists’ eyes will help reveal the cities’ deficiencies and successes.