Week 41 - 7 Reasons to avoid All Inclusive Holidays
Now I know everyone has a different idea of their perfect holiday from staying in a cosy cottage to backpacking around Tibet and for some an all inclusive resort ticks a lot of their good holiday boxes. However there are some good environmental reasons to not book all inclusive.
7 Green Reasons to avoid all inclusive holidays
1. You fly there
In most cases you'll be jetting off to a resort somewhere warm and we all know how damaging to the environment air travel is.
2. Poor Food
All that unlimited food might seem like a great option but maybe less so when you think about it a bit more. In many cases it will be the cheapest food the resort can buy and it certainly will not be be organic or fair trade. It is unlikely that it will be locally sourced and much will be imported. It will invariably be high in salt and sugar and as it is all free you will easily find yourself overeating.
3. You do not support the local economy
Following on from food that is imported your stay at an all inclusive resort will often not help the local economy. You will not be eating in local, independent restaurants or buying local produce. In many cases holidaymakers do not even step outside of the resort. They do not support local tourist attractions or other businesses in any way at all.
4. Staff are poorly paid and seasonal
To keep holiday prices down resort staff will be on low wages - in resorts only open for part of the year they will have no work out of season. In other cases those working in the resort are not even locals.
5. You will not see the country you are visiting
You arrive at the airport, a bus takes you to the resort, you spend your week there and return to the airport in the same bus. The view from the bus window is the most many holidaymakers will see of the country they are visiting. The resort offers a sanitised view of your host country where-as when you visit a country for real and stay amongst its people you learn about their culture, their strengths and their problems. You will not appreciate the wide variety of cultures our world contains.
6. Less personal service
Now it may seem that the staff are all wonderfully polite and will do anything to help you. That is true but to them you are simply a faceless person who they will never see again. However, if you book a holiday will a small independent tour operator or family run holiday cottage you will get real personal service. Ask about the best green things to do locally and they will know. You are helping to keep a family in business and they are genuinely pleased to help you.
7. Resorts do not support empathy of other countries and cultures
Going to an all inclusive resort seems so easy and everything is organised for you. By letting someone else sort out everything for your holiday you feel safe and all is good. The opposite of that concept is a more chaotic world where you have to make your own decisions, perhaps one that is even perceived to be more dangerous ... but by being part of that world you will become a stronger person with more empathy for everyone who lives on this wonderful planet of ours. You will feel far more inclined to protect the world when you see what wonderful people and places it contains.
And finally, just time for 2 mentions. The first is my own small gite (holiday cottage) in Normandy France - Eco-Gites of Lenault and the second is for a Facebook Group I help run, called Book Your Holiday Direct with the Owner where you can find quality cottages, gites, villas and B&Bs all over the UK and France. Come and join and book your next holiday with the owner, be that me or one of the owners on the group.
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| Eco-Gites of Lenault |
Have you seen all the other posts in my #WeeklyGreenTips series? Click on "Weekly Green Tips" in the labels section in the right hand column for loads more green inspiration.
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