All or nothing

As the pound slides against foreign currencies, many Britons are protecting themselves against the soaring costs of travel by booking all-inclusive holidays.

New research from Mintel shows that in the five years up to 2010, the sector grew by 32 per cent, and another surge is on the cards for 2011.

All-inclusive packages include the cost of flights, accommodation and transfers, plus all food and drink at holiday resorts. They can even include luxuries like spa treatments, so holidaymakers don’t need to leave the resort, or spend another penny once the trip’s been booked.

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Bob Atkinson, of TravelSupermarket.com, says: “People are lapping up all-inclusives in the usual Mediterranean hotspots. Egypt and Turkey are going the same way, as is Morocco and Tunisia, while long-haul destinations like the Caribbean, the Maldives, Goa and Kenya are largely driven by the all-inclusive concept.”

One leading operator, First Choice, part of TUI Travel, is switching to all-inclusives only next year.

Communications director Christian Cull says: “In 2011, all-inclusive holidays have accounted for 65 per cent of all our sales. Our own research shows that a family of four can save more than £510 a week by going all-inclusive, compared to B&B only.”

Thomson, the leading brand of TUI Travel, has turned the concept into a top-of-the-market, five-star product with its impressive Sensatori brand.

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Atkinson says: “With package holidays in long-term decline because more and more people make their own arrangements, Thomson and First Choice want to build the so-called ‘differentiated product’, which you can’t buy anywhere else.”

But he admits the concept has it downsides: “Owners of all-inclusive hotels and resorts are not always local companies, so profits may flow to the tourist industry as a whole, instead of areas where holidaymakers are staying.

“There’s also a danger that many British visitors never leave their resort, so they get little idea of the area where they are taking a holiday.”

Noel Josephides, a director of the Association of Independent Tour Operators (AITO), says there’s a big debate on all-inclusives.

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“They can hit the local economy hard in holiday areas: Paphos, in Cyprus, has 18 all-inclusive hotels, with the result that 150 restaurants had to shut down.

“It’s a different matter in the African bush. There, all-inclusives make work for locals who wouldn’t otherwise have a job.”

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