ABSTRACT
This chapter explores how new 'carriers' are enlisted into the practice of slow travel, how these develop as practitioners over time and what makes them defect from this practice as a means of understanding how slow travel, as a practice entity, is reproduced and spread. It begins by developing the practice theory approach and by discussing and contextualising the concepts of recruitment, career and defection. The chapter then presents an analysis of slow travel – in which it takes a closer look at slow travellers' recruitment, career and defection. It illustrates the usefulness of a practice theory approach while also paying particular attention to the temporal dimension when investigating emergent sustainable tourism practices like slow travel. The chapter ends with a discussion of the specific emergence and dynamics of the practice of slow travel and the fruitfulness of using practice theory to analyse the emergence and spread of alternative tourism practices.
