Guest post on Creative Travel by Elena Paschinger
Ever thought of making your own cheese, learning to bake an Austrian cake or painting a watercolour? How about discovering how to carve or weave, printing your own souvenir, or even learning a traditional dance? All are possible with creative travel.
I first developed my passion for creative travel while journeying through New Zealand. Here Creative Tourism New Zealand offers exciting activities such as bone carving, harakeke flax weaving, Maori cooking or nature workshops.
If, like me you want to know, what makes a country and its people tick, or what local traditions all about, then why not go there and discover the truth for yourself.
I see and I forget, I hear and I remember, I do and I understand
Creative travel and interactive learning experiences have an advantage over mass-market cultural tourism experiences. Anyone can buy a Maori indigenous souvenir in New Zealand, but to make one yourself – now that’s something special.
With creative travel not only do professional tutors teach you new skills (i.e. learning how to carve), but you can actually meet the people behind the experience.
Here you can see their artistic endeavours through their eyes, gain an understanding of local traditions and the value of their community. It’s a sustainable, emotional and hands-on travel experience that does not need to be expensive. Depending on location, material, food and accommodation many experiences are available at budget prices.
Fortunately, I have found thousands of people all over the world who, like me, enjoy the creative travel experience.
The city of Barcelona, in Spain, has offered creative travel activities since 2006, including photo safaris, mosaic workshops, painting, music classes, and cooking workshops.
Santa Fe in New Mexico, part of UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network, offers a myriad of creative workshops and experiences such as cooking, painting, glass art, theatre, dance and music.
It focuses on local artists that live in or around Santa Fe, thus enhancing the city’s cultural life and offering opportunities for visitors to engage with the local community.
Similar networks and creative travel offerings are now found throughout Europe and even Asia – in Thailand and India.
Often creative travel goes a lot further than the classic painting holiday in Tuscany or Provence.
Nowhere else can you learn how to yodel but in the Alpine valleys of Salzburg or the Tyrol. Or perhaps hunt truffles and take truffle cooking lessons in Umbria or Piedmont, Italy. Creative travel is therefore all about the particular aspects of a certain destination and their unique creativity.
Creative travel in Austria
I am particularly excited about the many possibilities to discover creative travelling in my own backyard – Austria.
I’m constantly on the lookout for and blogging about new experiences available throughout my home country and our Kreativ Reisen network already offers over 100 different creative courses and destinations.
Here you can try yodelling, carving, cooking, baking, painting or jewellery classes.
One great option is with Lucie who originally hails from New York, she offers creative shopping tours in Vienna meeting local designers, jewellers and food merchants. Her enthusiasm about the creative tourism movement is palpable, and we hope it will continue to bring tourists and locals together in an valued exchange of knowledge and skills.
Elena writes on creative travel. After studying cultural tourism and leisure management at university, she travelled extensively all over the world.
She decided on creative travelling, as the best means of really getting to know a culture.
For Elena promoting Creative Tourism Austria is a dream come true, and she is excited that there is so much for visitors to do and see in Austria.
Category: Blog
