Your vote results
 Below are the results of our latest eZine survey. Your votes on whether all inclusive holidays* should be banned are as follows:52% of you voted YES - all inclusive holidays should be banned 48% of you voted NO - all inclusive holidays should not be banned * large scale custom built all inclusive resorts |
Below is a selection of comments, views and opinions we received in response to the vote: Please email us if you have any suggestions for our next Topic of the Month
No they're wonderful!
E. Reid
I think my main complaint is that I do not like surveys that ask for Yes or No answers as very few things in the world are ever black or white. In an ideal world we would all travel ecologically and all the payments for our holidays would benefit the country we are visiting, but we all know that we do not live in an ideal world.
I understand RT's point completely regarding holidaymakers that do not experience the culture and customs of the country they are visiting but I am not sure that banning all-inclusive holidays is the answer as even on holidays that do not put money directly into the local area the hotels etc, need to be staffed and this is done generally by local people. I think the answer lies in education and websites like yours go a long way in educating people about the different peoples and cultures in the World.
I also think that while the majority of peoples lives are governed by economics then unfortunately there will always be a market for all-inclusives which, usually, are the cheaper option. However, if you look at how we holidayed say 30 years ago and how we holiday now you can see that responsible tourism is making some advances. But it is a long slow process and I am delighted to be part of it.
Susan Shakespeare
I just wanted to express my concern about the use of phrases like 'All inclusive holidays' such as is being used in your current debate topic.
I know full well that you are aiming these comments at the all inclusive resort such as those found in The Gambia - you have even sighted these and Club Med. But let us not forget that many community projects and responsible operators offer fully inclusive services.
If we look at one of your favourites such as Kwaza they offer accommodation, all meals, guided tours of the village etc etc as part of their package - this is a 'fully inclusive resort'! If we look at the broader phrase of 'fully inclusive holidays', when I sell someone their flights, transfers, accommodation, meals, guiding services ... this is a 'fully inclusive holiday'.
Whilst I am fully behind you in the sentiment of pushing the arguments into the public forum, can we, as an industry, find a more specific terminology. We need to be sure that comments are correctly focused.
It could be devastating if a government picked up on the idea and decided to do something about it. With the best intentions they might inadvertently make legislation which banned or restricted the broader meaning of 'all inclusive'.
Keep up the good fight.
All the best
Guy, Tribes travel
I voted “no” not to ban all inclusive holidays because I felt that if they are done responsibly, it would be a good thing for the local economy. I feel that the local governments should and can force the issues you brought up in your article. But to ban all of those kinds of holidays would hurt those who are acting responsibly as well as those who aren’t.
Thank you for running this survey. I didn’t know about the controversy.
Sincerely,
Earnest Miller, Jr.
It's interesting timing that I received RT's newsletter just as an article I pitched to an English-language newspaper based in Greece was rejected. They said that my piece was too preachy...which was true. It listed questions that responsible travelers should ask before they book their trips. Basically, to clarify whether the agency, tour operator and hotel are doing anything good for the destination or environment. The editors agreed that mass tourism is environmentally damaging, but did not want to get involved in "crossover" reportage of tourism in Greece. Guess they meant they don't want to scold their readers...and travel should be a fun thing...and the bad things happen miles away.
All the best on your work.
Nikki Rose, Crete's Culinary Sanctuaries
I voted NO in this, in that I would have liked to have seen a positive encouragement of companies to improve their awareness of the local and the effect they do have, and where improve. If one company can work towards this [as in your "what we think piece"] then perhaps rather than NO an encouragement as it is unlikely the practice will cease overnight, but might better succeed if those offering the package, also offered awareness of the impact of what they are doing at the resort - pay conditions etc. Thanks for raising the question, and awareness.
David Milner
Go back to the article on all inclusive holidays here 