Nanotourism is a newly-constructed term that contains a creative critique of the current environmental, social, and economic negative aspects of conventional tourism, as a participatory, locally oriented bottom-up alternative. The term was coined by Slovenian architects Aljoša Dekleva and Tina Gregorič in 2014 as part of the Ljubljana Biennial of Design BIO 50, and was further explored by teams of experts through several case studies. One of the case studies, Old School Ilica—a project by OAZA Art Organization from Zagreb, deals with alternative forms of tourism in the city through a better understanding of local crafts and knowledge exchange between craftspeople, designers and the local community within collaborative and participatory workshops and exhibitions. The project tested in Zagreb offers an alternative model of self-sustainable development of the local community through elements of social design, and through the international platform MADE IN is tested in the European context. The model is based on the belief in the ability of social relations and reflects the basic postulates of nanotourism—hyperlocalism, criticism and orientation towards the local community.
