All inclusive holiday experiences  

I am sorry to hear about this tourist having a terrible time on his or her all inclusive holiday in Mexico. I think that the meal arrangements and standards of food and drink were awful. Most likely the staff were told to keep the tourists at the resort and the area outside the resort was probably not at all dangerous. I have been to Mexico, Belize and Guatemala and didn't find it dangerous at all. When I was in Kenya the staff at a hotel on the coast said it was dangerous in the rest of the country. It was not and I went on the most wonderful safari. Shopping in the market in Nairobi was an excellent experience.

I know that local people miss out on the tourist dollar when all inclusive resorts keep the tourists in the resort. Shops do not have tourists buying souvenirs and restaurants do not have tourists wanting to eat there. The tourist has to trust that the food and drink will be great at their resort. This often in not the case and I read about some tourists staying at an all inclusive resort in the Dominican Republic got food poisoning.

I like to travel independently and then I can spent my money in many different places in a region. It is lovely to think that a tour operator does not get all my travel funds. Perhaps the train company gets some, a locally owned guest house and a supermarket that sells locally produced food. I can decide to stay and eat at where ever I want. I feel safe traveling with the advice of my travel guide book.