All-inclusive hotel package sales accounted for 35% of total sales in the UK during the summer period, it has been revealed.

According to the data compiled by tour operators, all-inclusive packages accounted for 35% of total sales in July and August this year, an increase on 27% compared to the same months in 2022.

In the distribution of all-inclusive package sales by destination, Malta increased by 78%, the Aegean region by 125%, and Antalya by 56%.

The concept of all-inclusive hotel management is frequently preferred by hotel businesses in Turkey. The data confirms this, especially for the Aegean region.

While this understanding of hotel management is advantageous for tour companies and hotels, many tourism professionals state that this situation is worrisome.

Mustafa Yüksel

Voices spoke to Mustafa Yüksel, a Member of the Board of Directors of the Didim Tourism Association and also a hotel operator, about the impact of all-inclusive hotel management on tourism and the situation in Didim.

Yüksel stated that all-inclusive hotel packages harm tourism and should not be implemented so widely. “All 5-star hotels in Didim offer all-inclusive hotel services. Additionally, 10 more businesses operate with this hotel management approach.

“Some boutique businesses implement this with a method they have developed themselves. For example, they are trying to find methods that will not cause economic losses, such as all-inclusive except alcohol,” he said.

Yüksel stated that all-inclusive hotel management started in Greece and Spain, but these countries changed their understanding of business concept. “All-inclusive hotels are quite rare in Spain today. “Currently, both Greece and Spain operate hotels with the “room only” approach, without even including breakfast.”

Yüksel, who has a hotel in Altınkum, said that they only offer room and bed and breakfast services. “There are 80 rooms in our hotel. If we assume there are only 2 people staying in each room, it would not be right to sell packages that would prevent 160 people from wandering Didim, going to restaurants, or purchasing services outside,” he said.

Why is it popular with the British?

Yüksel attributed the reason why the all-inclusive hotel management approach is preferred first in the UK to the increase in preferences made due to economic concerns.

“Tourists try to protect themselves from surprise expenses by purchasing package holidays and paying a single price. Especially families with children adopt this as a method of coping with children’s demands. Children’s playgrounds and animations for children in the hotel prevent additional expenses,” he said.

“However, the risk of this holiday may be that you will be deprived of a quality holiday. Because hoteliers may reduce the quality of service in order to cover the costs.”

Negatively affects country promotion

According to the data, Spain, our biggest tourism rival in the Mediterranean, has become the first choice of holidaymakers in the UK. Evaluating this issue, Yüksel said, “We attract British tourists with all-inclusive services, but since we cannot promote our local delicacies, natural beauties and historical values, tourists who are interested in these choose Spain.”

When we asked about the all-inclusive hotel management concept being banned in some regions of Spain, Yüksel said, “It is a correct practice. Because tourists stay at the hotel for everything from breakfast to dinner, from entertainment to activities; they don’t really learn about anything about the country. You cannot promote the country this way.”

Explaining the reason why the understanding of hotels has not changed in Turkey is that the Ministry of Tourism does not encourage new tourism, Yüksel said, “Similar methods are being repeated to provide the annual number of tourists that the Ministry expects from tourism professionals. However, these methods do not benefit anyone in the long run.

“The return to the economy is ineffective. Local businesses, restaurants and cafes are prevented from gaining. All-inclusive hotel businesses sell these packages at a low price. Therefore, to compensate for its losses, it reduces the quality of its service. This reduces customer satisfaction.”

Need to change in 10 years

So, is the all-inclusive hotel management concept bad at all? To this question, Yüksel said, “Adopting this hotel management in large hotels that are far from the city centre is understandable and meeting the needs.”

However, he said, “The fact that the hotels located in Altınkum, in the centre of Didim, closest to cafes and restaurants, provide service with this understanding is damaging to Didim.”

Yüksel also emphasized that all-inclusive hotel management will have to change with the new generation. “The new generation’s understanding of holidays is different from the tourist behaviour we are used to. Generation Z is trying to stay in a cheap place and explore the city they are in. They want to visit the touristic and culturally valuable points of the region, spend time in entertainment centres, and explore the restaurants in the region.

“So they are not interested in all-inclusive, which will cause them to spend their entire holiday at the hotel. This situation means that we will have to change our understanding and methods of hotel management within the next ten years.”