A Canadian couple whose blog I follow posted an article talking about their recent stay in the Mayan Riviera and posed this question; are all-inclusive trips still “travelling” or are they just vacations (check out their post here). As I was writing my response in their comments, I realized that my comment was as long as their article… so I’m posting it here instead. 🙂
If you don’t follow the travel community very closely, you may have missed that there is a continual (and tiring) debate that rages about being a traveler versus being a tourist (being a traveler is obviously the more desirable) and I’ve “known” Cam and Nicole long enough to get that this wasn’t the heart of what they were asking… but “oh great” was my knee jerk reaction (another commenter made the same assessment). We humans love to rank and file things, and frankly this conversation isn’t unique to the travel world. In the tech community its Unix guys versus the Windows guys. In the hot-rodding world it’s the guys that build their own cars versus the ones that pay someone to do it for them. In the parenting world it’s the people that spank versus the ones that don’t. In the spirit of good conversation though, I’ll offer my opinion.
For me, travel is all about the experience, and so I think that All-inclusive is most definitely traveling… it is just a different way of doing it.
When I think of all-inclusive travel I think of it as sort of travel with training wheels. That’s how my wife and I got our start at seeing the world (in the Mayan Riviera to be exact) and ultimately what opened our eyes to other cultures… albeit at a high comfort level and arguably in a bit of a vacuum. BUT, we did learn that we could function in places where we didn’t know the language and we saw how exciting it was to see and do new things. I know a good number of people who stop there because they’re perfectly happy seeing the sites and then kicking it on the beach… and frankly, who doesn’t love just chilling out on the beach, sipping on a pina colada and watching the tide come and go every once in a while? I wouldn’t personally call those people any less travelers than I am, but their experience is without a doubt different then say someone backpacking alone through SE Asia (which I haven’t done… yet). I have personally come to the conclusion that it really doesn’t matter WHERE you go when you do all-inclusive travel, because once you’re inside the walls of the resort, the experience is very similar (granted service levels vary greatly… but you know what I mean), but to me it is travel none-the-less.
All that said though, all-inclusive travel is very low on my list these days. I wouldn’t trade those experiences and memories for anything… but if I’m planning a trip, I want to get way outside my normal comfort zone and see things and experience cultures much deeper then you can ever hope to at a resort. It is hard for me to feel like I’ve really “met the locals”, when the only ones I came in contact with were the ones trying to sell me something… and subsequently blocking my sun. 😛 I very much get that going to places like Kathmandu isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, and I’m good with that… they’re still travelers in my book though.
That’s my thought, what’s yours?
–Dan
Very interesting post. As someone who is not familiar with the travel world, I had no idea this was even an area of debate 🙂 We recently decided to take a trip without our boys to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary. The choice came down to either London or Jamaica. In the end, we decided for a relaxing, all-inclusive experience in Jamaica that was lighter on the wallet and we cannot wait to go back!! My question is this: would it have been “travel” if we went to London? It definitely wouldn’t be an all-inclusive, laying on the beach type of trip. On the other hand, there is no language barrier, the accommodations are modern, and transportation is very similar to the US. Where does one draw the line (the novice traveler in me really doesn’t know)? On a side note, backpacking through SE Asia would stress me out to no end…but then again I get lost in Target 🙂
Both are travel in my book… and frankly even the elitist travel people have a soft spot for London; just so long as you don’t do any guided tours. LOL I feel like our trip to China was travel for sure, but some would turn their noses up at us because we had English speaking guides the whole time and the itinerary was already all on paper before we left the States. That debate is all pretty silly in my book (and just another “we’re better than you” type of argument)… and I certainly wouldn’t say that you “hadn’t REALLY been to Jamaica”, just because you stayed at an all-inclusive. We count all those places for sure! 🙂
Hey guys, nice to read your feedback about the question. What I find most interesting about the topic is the variety of responses, and the personalities of those that side with each argument. I don’t think it has to be about “who’s travel style better”, that certainly isn’t the intent, however I find it interesting that most travel bloggers or travel industry people view the question in that light (at least thats my perception). I don’t think the tone needs to be about who’s right or wrong. Its about learning the travel styles and preferences of others; after all, that’s the value that travel blogs bring. Now, that said, most people that provide feedback tend to be from the travel blogging world, which inevitably brings a more seasoned traveler to the conversation
My thoughts exactly Cam. It *shouldn’t* be about which is better, because in the end, it is all personal preference anyway. If you want to go sit on the beach, wear it out. If you want to go get lost in some forgotten corner of the planet… wear it out (and write about it, because I’d like to hear about that!).