Is ‘Tiny Tourism’ the antidote to mass tourism? I went to Dublin to try it out

A new travel philosophy preaches skipping tourist sights and doing everyday things instead. But will it really be a trip to Dublin if I don’t visit Temple Bar?

I am strolling through Dublin’s city centre when a yellow amphibious vehicle piled with tourists in plastic Viking hats barrels past me. Just as they holler in my direction, I grab my camera and duck into the supermarket on the corner to wander the crisps aisle instead.

Supermarket shopping might seem like an offbeat holiday choice, but that’s the essence of “Tiny Tourism”, a concept first coined by UK-based creative platform It’s Nice That. The counter-trend snubs overcrowded hotspots and “bucket lists” in favour of seeking out small, hyper-local experiences. The principle boils down to one little rule: if it feels like a tourist would do it, don’t.

As a travel writer, I’m willing to put the idea to the test on a long weekend in Dublin with my daughter. Instead of hitting Temple Bar and the Guinness Factory, we’ll follow the Tiny Tourist mentality and go thrift shopping, take public transport and browse pharmacies. Will swerving Dublin’s Big Tourism attractions in favour of micro details really help us understand the city better?

It’s the little things
Tiny Tourism might be new, but the desire to experience places like a local isn’t. Over 20 years in the industry, I’ve seen this urge spring from a belief that that mass tourism is increasingly inauthentic. It’s now common to find “Disneyfied” versions of cities, with hordes of rowdy visitors and nary a local accent in earshot. No wonder today’s travellers crave something more meaningful.