@ARTICLE{10.21494/ISTE.OP.2025.1253, 

TITLE={“Slow tourism”, towards a new model of European Capital of Culture?}, 
  
AUTHOR={Marina Rotolo, }, 
	
JOURNAL={City and Tourism}, 
	
VOLUME={3}, 

NUMBER={Issue 1}, 
	
YEAR={2025}, 

URL={https://openscience.fr/Slow-tourism-towards-a-new-model-of-European-Capital-of-Culture}, 
	
DOI={10.21494/ISTE.OP.2025.1253}, 
	
ISSN={2976-5897}, 
	
ABSTRACT={The article examines territorial and urban development through the prism of the “European Capital of Culture” label, with a particular focus on the tourism strategy, and in particular the adaptation of cultural tourism in a context of ecological transition. The candidacies of four French cities for the title of European Capital of Culture for 2028 are analyzed: Rouen, Bourges, Clermont-Ferrand and Montpellier. For these medium-sized and smaller cities seeking to assert themselves on an international scale, a new urban imaginary is proposed by those involved in the bid. In the age of the Anthropocene, the tourism narrative is part of this dynamic, with a common positioning for the four cities, through the notion of “slow tourism” and a focus on natural heritage. The case of the winning city in the national competition is explored in greater depth : Bourges and its cultural project based on the idea of a capital on a “human scale” outside the dynamics of metropolization. This discourse, rooted in the concept of “happy frugality”, raises questions about the urban policies implemented and the repositioning of the tourism offer.}}