Globally, the number of travellers seeking depth is growing. According to Booking.com, 44 per cent of travellers in 2023 will value authentic experiences more than tourist highlights. And this is reflected in the market: from Peru to Slovenia, a growing offering in community-based tourism, which focuses on meeting and engaging, is emerging.
Authentic travel is thus no longer a trend, but a fundamental reorientation on how we want to travel and what we hope to get out of it. No more quick checklists, but experiences that stick. Not a perfect picture, but a real story.
From storytelling to storyliving
Travellers no longer want to watch, but to participate. The shift from storytelling to storyliving means tourists are no longer spectators, but active participants in local life.
In Slovenia, this is already happening on a large scale. In regions like Goriška Brda and Koroška, visitors rotate on wineries, help with cheese production or learn to cook with wild herbs. No directed tourism here, but organic involvement in the rhythms of the region.
Even in Peru, in the villages around Cusco, Quechua communities welcome visitors on their own terms. No tourist shows, but daily realities: weaving, offerings to Pachamama and shared meals. Tourism here is community-based, with mutual respect and control by locals.
Crafts, heritage and local culture as an experience
Craftsmanship and tradition are increasingly at the heart of the travel experience. Not as folklore or entertainment, but as living culture.
In Ireland, you can see this in regions such as Connemara and Donegal. Visitors cut their own peat, bake soda bread or join fishermen on the Atlantic. Artisans show how wool is spun, leather is worked or musical traditions are passed on. These are not attractions, but learning experiences that connect.
In Japan too, more and more travellers are choosing rural regions like Tottori or Nagano, where they take part in centuries-old crafts like sake brewing or paper-making. Not as a romanticised past, but as part of everyday life.
Why we are returning to the real
The appeal of authenticity is also a backlash. To a world full of stylised experiences, to social media that filters everything, to travel that surprises little anymore. Travellers feel something is missing: meaning, authenticity, connection.
Authentic tourism responds to this need for meaning. Travelling is becoming a way of cultural deepening, self-exploration and renewed contact with the human. It ties in with broader societal trends: greater focus on sustainability, local identity, small scale and craftsmanship.
It's about more than just memories. It's about feeling that what you do matters, to yourself and to the place you visit.
Travelling with reciprocity
Today's traveller not only wants to experience, but also to give something back. Not as a transaction, but as a mutual exchange. Listening, learning and active participation creates a different kind of contact.
This is how travellers change from visitors to participants. Cooking together, harvesting, sharing stories: it is the small moments that stick. In an increasingly volatile world, there is a growing desire for real encounters.
For travel suppliers and destination marketers, this requires a different approach. Not pushing products, but giving room for relationship. Not just steering on quantity, but on quality of interaction. Authentic tourism is about tranquillity, attention and meaning, and is gaining momentum for precisely that reason.
An experience that sticks
On a trip to Peru's Coporaque, on the edge of the Colca Canyon, I stayed with a local family. They were one of the first in the village to welcome travellers. With the extra income, their daughter was able to study and land of her own was bought for the first time.
During the day, we hiked through the quiet, breathtaking valley of Canocota. In the evening, our hostess served a simple but tasty meal of chicken, mashed potatoes and rice prepared with local spices.
No luxury or show, just a warm jug and a sincere exchange. It was precisely this simplicity that made it special. Not a polished experience, but a genuine encounter, and perhaps for that very reason unforgettable.
