All Inclusive Holidays Might Damage Tourism

First Choice Holidays plans to sell only all-inclusive holidays from summer 2012, after the UK holiday market continues to love the All Inclusive holiday concept.

First Choice will no longer sell self catering accommodation or half board hotels and will also encourage hotel owners to convert to All Inclusive.

All holidays in their summer 2012 brochure, which will be available to book by the beginning of May 2011, will include flights, transfers, accommodation, three daily meals and unlimited local drinks.

This seems to have been done because with a depressed holiday market there is very little profit in selling cheap holidays because of low margins in a very competitive market.

The problem as we see it with this decision is that it does not support sustainable tourism. If more hotels go All Inclusive then it has a negative impact on local restaurants and shops because people tend to stay in the hotel rather than venture out into the local town. Restaurant owners in many tourist spots are already struggling because of low demand and this move could make things even more difficult for them. If the local economy is affected then this causes a lack of investment and subsequently this can have an effect on the facilities available for tourists.

Personally, I am not a big fan of All Inclusive hotels because the food tends to be repetitive and rushed. Some of the better 5 star hotels offer a much better quality All Inclusive experience and I can see that in some cases this will be an attractive holiday option. Some holiday destinations like The Maldives where the cost of drinks are expensive suit the All Inclusive concept better than more mainstream holiday destinations.

I like going into town in the evening and sampling different restaurants. I like this because I can choose the best restaurants and have a greater choice of food, and it takes longer as well. There is nothing better than sitting by the waters edge on a warm evening with a bottle of wine and good food.

I can see why All Inclusive holidays are a good option for families because they can budget better and know before they go on holiday how much it is going to cost them but I guess that it is a matter of personal taste, however, tourism is supposed to be about more than sitting by the pool and eating and drinking as much as you can!