All inclusive holidays

We all know that all inclusive holidays are taking their toll on Majorca’s bars and restaurants but one restaurant owner has warned that if this trend continues in a decade Majorca’s resorts could just consist of hotels. This restaurant owner, who has been in business in Santa Ponsa for the last 30 years, says that this summer has been a nightmare. “Tourists are being offered all inclusive holidays, even if they hadn’t  already booked them, as soon as they get to their hotel for as little as 20 euros a day,” he told me this week. As a direct result bar and restaurant takings have fallen by as much as 50 percent this year. “This summer there appears to be far more tourists on all inclusive holidays and they are simply not going out,” he said. But what concerned me was his warning that in some cases, the days of the independent bar and restaurant in the main holiday resorts, were numbered. This is a terrible scenario.  It is like saying that the writing is on the wall for thousands of small businesses. Now, I have been on all inclusive holidays in Majorca, and they are excellent value for money, and in most cases the quality of the food and drink is good. But what the tourism authorities need to look at is the effect all inclusive holidays are having on the bar and restaurant trade. It is obviously hitting their profits hard. Should Majorcan hotels be allowed to go completely all inclusive? I don’t think so. It would be madness.