Should all inclusive holidays be banned?
Saint or sinner? Do all inclusive holidays provide a much needed break for millions of families on a tight budget and employment for local people - or deny local communities a fair share of tourism revenues? Was the Gambia right to attempt to ban all inclusive holidays?
The story so far
Belgian sportsman Gerard Blitz pioneered the concept of all inclusive holidays using army surplus tents in Majorca in the 1950’s. Club Med was born, and the first of their famous straw-hut villages opened in Corfu in 1952. Its first all inclusive ski-village opened in Switzerland five years later.
50 years on Club Med have dozens of competitors, including most well known high street tour operators. The cheap all inclusive holiday has become the staple of millions of holidaymakers, and the army surplus tents have been replaced by custom built tourist resorts.
As it says on the tin the basic premise of the all inclusive is that you pay the tour operator in advance for everything you need – including all the sports, activities, kids clubs and food and drink. In brochures tourists are encouraged to enjoy all the facilities without carrying any money with them.
The case against all-inclusives
Gerard Blitz’s concept was not only a clever piece of marketing, but a shrewd commercial concept. Tourists who have paid for everything in advance - and are accommodated in self sufficient resorts complete with bars, restaurants and entertainment – have little incentive to go anywhere else in the country, hire local guides, eat in local restaurants or pay entry fees to see local natural or cultural heritage.
This means that the tour company (which is mostly owned by overseas companies) rakes in most of the tourist’s cash, leaving little behind in the local community in whose countries and local areas where we take our holidays. Holidaymakers also use vast quantities of energy and water (significantly more per person than local people), create significant amounts of waste, and some feel that this is a high price to pay for little commercial return.
The Gambia is one of the world’s poorest countries with more than half of the population living on less than a dollar a day. Most of the population survives on subsistence agriculture. Concern in The Gambia about the growth of all-inclusive holidays led to attempts by the government to ban them, but a storm of protest from European tour operators (and threats of reduced business) resulted in the policy being abandoned.
In the Caribbean , all inclusives are unpopular with local people for another reason. Some beaches are exclusively reserved for tourists. Stretches of beach are fenced off and protected by security guards, with local people being denied access. Tourists are warned about the security threat posed by local people – which may or may not be true – and advised to say in resorts. Either way local people's attitudes to tourists are certainly not going to be improved by a bunker mentality by the tourism industry.
Working conditions for local people working in all inclusive resorts are very mixed. Tourism Concern interviewed hotel workers in the Canaries who lived in cramped conditions, barely earned a living wage, and were illegally kept on temporary contracts. There is no doubt that in many cases local people get the most menial jobs, while expatriates take the best paid management positions.
Is there anything positive to say about all inclusives?
The all inclusive holiday is the highlight of the year for many families across Europe, and it would be clearly wrong to deny anyone a holiday just because money is tight.
Although much needs to be done to improve environmental standards, all inclusive resorts do have the infrastructure and facilities to cope with significant numbers of tourists, and it could be argued that any negative cultural impacts of tourism are minimised by containing tourists in the all-inclusive resort.
Perhaps the strongest criticism of all inclusives is that the local people see little economic benefit. However while much needs to be done to improve the wages and working conditions of local people in resorts, all inclusive resorts do create significant numbers of new jobs in areas with some of the highest unemployment in the world. In some cases local people think these jobs are better than those provided by local businesses.
All inclusives could significantly increase the amount of money which reaches local hands by supporting local farmers and buying food and produce locally. Sandals Negril Resort is pioneering new ways for all inclusives to work with local communities by –
Although there are exceptions all inclusive holidays generally provide limited local economic benefits. However, we believe that there is considerable scope to improve the benefits to local communities, and reduce the environmental impacts, of nearly all inclusive resorts. Slowly this is beginning to happen.
Our advice to tourists is that in many (but not all) popular destinations there are attractive locally owned hotels or self catering accommodation that is just as cheap as all inclusives. They will enable you to discover more about the destination and local cultures, and increase the benefits to local communities.
However if you are considering an all inclusive resort always to ask your tour operator to provide specific example of how the resort benefits local people and minimises environmental impacts. If they’ve got nothing in writing they probably aren’t taking it seriously and it's time to look elsewhere for your holiday.
The story so far Belgian sportsman Gerard Blitz pioneered the concept of all inclusive holidays using army surplus tents in Majorca in the 1950’s. Club Med was born, and the first of their famous straw-hut villages opened in Corfu in 1952. Its first all inclusive ski-village opened in Switzerland five years later.
50 years on Club Med have dozens of competitors, including most well known high street tour operators. The cheap all inclusive holiday has become the staple of millions of holidaymakers, and the army surplus tents have been replaced by custom built tourist resorts.
As it says on the tin the basic premise of the all inclusive is that you pay the tour operator in advance for everything you need – including all the sports, activities, kids clubs and food and drink. In brochures tourists are encouraged to enjoy all the facilities without carrying any money with them.
The case against all-inclusives
Gerard Blitz’s concept was not only a clever piece of marketing, but a shrewd commercial concept. Tourists who have paid for everything in advance - and are accommodated in self sufficient resorts complete with bars, restaurants and entertainment – have little incentive to go anywhere else in the country, hire local guides, eat in local restaurants or pay entry fees to see local natural or cultural heritage.
This means that the tour company (which is mostly owned by overseas companies) rakes in most of the tourist’s cash, leaving little behind in the local community in whose countries and local areas where we take our holidays. Holidaymakers also use vast quantities of energy and water (significantly more per person than local people), create significant amounts of waste, and some feel that this is a high price to pay for little commercial return.
The Gambia is one of the world’s poorest countries with more than half of the population living on less than a dollar a day. Most of the population survives on subsistence agriculture. Concern in The Gambia about the growth of all-inclusive holidays led to attempts by the government to ban them, but a storm of protest from European tour operators (and threats of reduced business) resulted in the policy being abandoned.
In the Caribbean , all inclusives are unpopular with local people for another reason. Some beaches are exclusively reserved for tourists. Stretches of beach are fenced off and protected by security guards, with local people being denied access. Tourists are warned about the security threat posed by local people – which may or may not be true – and advised to say in resorts. Either way local people's attitudes to tourists are certainly not going to be improved by a bunker mentality by the tourism industry.
Working conditions for local people working in all inclusive resorts are very mixed. Tourism Concern interviewed hotel workers in the Canaries who lived in cramped conditions, barely earned a living wage, and were illegally kept on temporary contracts. There is no doubt that in many cases local people get the most menial jobs, while expatriates take the best paid management positions.
Is there anything positive to say about all inclusives?
The all inclusive holiday is the highlight of the year for many families across Europe, and it would be clearly wrong to deny anyone a holiday just because money is tight.
Although much needs to be done to improve environmental standards, all inclusive resorts do have the infrastructure and facilities to cope with significant numbers of tourists, and it could be argued that any negative cultural impacts of tourism are minimised by containing tourists in the all-inclusive resort.
Perhaps the strongest criticism of all inclusives is that the local people see little economic benefit. However while much needs to be done to improve the wages and working conditions of local people in resorts, all inclusive resorts do create significant numbers of new jobs in areas with some of the highest unemployment in the world. In some cases local people think these jobs are better than those provided by local businesses.
All inclusives could significantly increase the amount of money which reaches local hands by supporting local farmers and buying food and produce locally. Sandals Negril Resort is pioneering new ways for all inclusives to work with local communities by –
- Promoting and selling tours of the community by local people
- Inviting local craft vendors to sell their wares in the hotel free of cost
- Promoting local artistes for nightly guest entertainment.
- Conducting lessons in schools about environmental and tourism related matters
- Employing qualified local persons whenever possible
- Reserving summer holiday jobs for students from neighbouring areas
Although there are exceptions all inclusive holidays generally provide limited local economic benefits. However, we believe that there is considerable scope to improve the benefits to local communities, and reduce the environmental impacts, of nearly all inclusive resorts. Slowly this is beginning to happen.
Our advice to tourists is that in many (but not all) popular destinations there are attractive locally owned hotels or self catering accommodation that is just as cheap as all inclusives. They will enable you to discover more about the destination and local cultures, and increase the benefits to local communities.
However if you are considering an all inclusive resort always to ask your tour operator to provide specific example of how the resort benefits local people and minimises environmental impacts. If they’ve got nothing in writing they probably aren’t taking it seriously and it's time to look elsewhere for your holiday.
Olly Wheatcroft and Justin Francis
responsibletravel.com
Go to the results of our vote on all inclusive holidays here 