The dreaded All Inclusive Holiday
The children are back as school, from yesterday, after their long summer holiday. They break up around June and don’t go back until a week or so into September – it would be impossible to work in the heat of July and August, so it makes sense. I expect there will be a few grumpy faces around for the next few days; I don’t suppose the children are enjoying it much either.
There was a lot of boat activity in the harbour yesterday, with plenty of pleasure yachts coming and going, the ferries coming in and the gulets from Turkey. The taxi boats weaved their ways in and out between them and there were quite a few in Harani and also heading around to Nimborio. Looking at the amount of day trippers coming off the boats in the morning, the season is showing no signs of slowing down on Rhodes either.
Apparently Rhodes has had one of its best years on record for tourist numbers. However, I also read that there are more small places having to close down because of lack of business, plus all the austerity measures and extra taxes. So how do those things match up? More numbers and less business. Well, it’s pretty clear and was explained to me by the chap at Napoleon’s restaurant in Rhodes a while ago. The blame, if you want to call it that, lies at the feet of the All Inclusive Deal (AID). People buy a holiday that includes accommodation, all their meals and certain drinks; the quality of which will vary according to where you are staying (see the TV series ‘Benidorm’ for the worst of the worst). Not that I am suggesting there’s anywhere on Rhodes like that! There certainly isn’t on Symi.
One thing that gets me about these AID users, I mean some of the holiday makers who take up AIDs, is that they miss out on things. Okay, so some people have no choice but to take a cheap deal – family, children etc. – and that’s understandable. They spend two weeks on a sunbed looking at the sea, they have daily excursions to the bar, buffet and bathroom. Fine. And I know that some people do go off-resort and explore the local areas too and everyone says ‘We’ve done Rhodes’ when they mean they’ve spent two weeks on a sunbed in-resort, or they’ve paid a quick visit to the Old Town. And some folk come over to Symi and other places for the day so that’s all well and good too. But it is still having a poor effect on the smaller hotels. My friend at Napoleon’s tells me each time I visit of another family-run hotel going out of business because of the AID style holiday. Let’s hope things get better for them next year.
