All-inclusive packages are no longer confined to sun and sand resorts, with options ranging from American dude ranches to breaks in Antarctica, providing agents with plenty of opportunities to sell the concept to more clients.
A study by market research firm Mintel revealed that half the UK adult population feels positive about taking an all-inclusive break. Sales have grown by 32% over the past five years and all-inclusives now account for 20-25% of all package holidays sold in the UK.
Glenn McCool, Hayes & Jarvis’s product and contracts manager for the Indian Ocean, says: “We’ve seen a big increase in demand for all-inclusive accommodation in the Indian Ocean over the past year, leaving B&B resorts in the Maldives that charge handsomely for other meals struggling to compete.
“Lily Beach hit the jackpot with its five-star all-inclusive formula and for the coming season we are offering four new properties in the Maldives and Mauritius.”
Zoetry in motion
High-end resorts are also going the extra mile in well-known all-inclusive destinations such as Jamaica, the Dominican Republic and Mexico. Zoetry Wellness & Spa resorts include unlimited worldwide telephone calls, 24-hour laundry service and a massage per guest in the Endless Privileges package.
Its sister brands, adults-only Secrets and family-friendly Dreams, offer an array of dining options and activities. Travel 2 prices lead in at £45 per person per night for Dreams La Romana in the Dominican Republic and £85 at Mexico’s Secrets Capri Riviera Cancun, excluding flights.
Somewhere different
All-inclusive deals can also be found in unexpected places.
Australia’s luxurious wilderness camp Longitude 131 is sold only on an all-inclusive basis through operators including Cox & Kings, Travel 2 and Audley Travel. The 15 furnished ‘tents’ face Uluru (Ayers Rock) and full-board fare runs to champagne and gourmet dinners.
In Dubai, clients who pay up front know how much cash they have to spend in the glitzy shopping malls. Travel 2 offers three nights at the five-star family-friendly Jebel Ali Hotel beach resort from £689 with flights.
Bermuda has never been a budget destination, but savvy travellers can save their pennies by booking into the Grotto Bay Beach Resort, which offers an all-inclusive option. Classic Collection Holidays offers a seven-night stay from £2,190 per person in a superior ocean-view room with British Airways flights and transfers.
Iberostar Hotels & Resorts has a variety of all-inclusive properties in countries including Cuba, Brazil, Croatia and Tunisia. New this year is the four-star Iberostar Club Boa Vista on the Cape Verde island of Boa Vista. And for a real Robinson Crusoe-style getaway, Abercrombie & Kent offers 10 secluded villas on the island of Vamizi, off the Mozambique coast.
For clients that want to walk, or ride, on the wild side, Ranch Rider has all-inclusive holidays in the US and South Africa, while Seasons in Style, Audley Travel and Africa specialists offer elephant-back safaris at the five-star Camp Jabulani in South Africa’s Kapama Private Game Reserve.
Closer to home
Thomson Lakes & Mountains has a new all-inclusive brochure section, with prices from £525 for a week at Italy’s Lake Garda or Lake Como. Lakes and mountains product director Ian Davis says: “We’ve introduced a wide range of all-inclusive holidays to the Italian and Austrian lakes regions, and Austrian mountains.”
Luxury all-inclusives are also on the increase in the eastern Mediterranean, with the sector set to grow further, according to Photis Lambrianides, commercial director at Olympic Holidays. “Hotels that you might not have associated with all-inclusive have embraced the product,” he says.
Greece’s largest hotel company, Grecotel, recently launched a Premium Plus rate that includes all meals, one a la carte dinner, and unlimited drinks and snacks.
Similarly, there’s a new all-inclusive package at four-star apartments and townhouses in Las Lomas Village’s at Spain’s La Manga Club. It includes complimentary food and drink at a variety of the resort’s restaurants and bars, children’s club and free tennis.
Montenegro has an increasing number of all-inclusives and Olympic Holidays offers the four-star Iberostar Bellevue in Becici from £655 for seven nights.
Balkan Holidays has added more all-inclusive hotels to its Bulgaria, Croatia and Montenegro programme, with three packages ranging from the ‘all-inclusive light’, with meals and drinks during mealtimes, to the ‘all-inclusive ultra’, with a choice of à la carte restaurants, branded drinks and entertainment programme.
Prices start at £329 for seven nights at the two-star Hotel Varshava in Golden Sands, Bulgaria, including flights.
Maldives: more for your money
Lily Beach bills itself as the first all-inclusive premium five-star resort in the Maldives. It is sold through operators including Hayes & Jarvis, Kuoni and Thomson Tailormade.
Diva Maldives (pictured above) has also embraced all-inclusive. Guests can take their pick from six restaurants, the same number of bars and complimentary watersports – and boast to friends back home via free Wi-Fi.
Making the Maldives even more accessible are the four-star Vilamendhoo Maldives and the three-star-plus Meedhupparu Maldives and Hudhuranfushi. They are among six all-inclusive hotels recently added to the Hayes & Jarvis programme.
Sample product
Kuoni offers eight nights in Australia, with three nights’ all-inclusive at Longitude 131, two nights at Chifley Alice Springs and three nights at the Shangri-La Sydney on a room-only basis, from £3,654 per person for travel in December, including flights with Qantas from Heathrow. agents.kuoni.co.uk, 01306 744304
Ranch Rider has a seven-night all-inclusive stay at Elk Mountain Lodge in Colorado from £1,360 in August and September, including transfers and all ranch activities. ranchrider.com, 01509 618811
Seasons in Style offers seven nights’ all-inclusive in a deluxe room at Diva Maldives from £2,490 for travel up to September 30, including BA flights from Gatwick
and seaplane transfers. seasonsinstyle.com, 01244 206000
