This is how the world’s first all-inclusive hotels were invented

All inclusive tourism started in the 50s

When planning a holiday, many end up choosing an all-inclusive hotel, where the price includes not only accommodation but also meals, drinks and activities. Especially for families with children, a full-service resort is an easy option.

Mexico and the Dominican Republic have traditionally been successful destinations for all-inclusive hotels. All-inclusive destinations familiar to Finns are also the Spanish islands in the Canary and Balearic Islands, Turkey, Cape Verde, Cuba and Egypt.

Have you ever wondered how the concept came about? Club Med, founded in France in 1950 under the name Club Méditerranée, is considered to be the pioneer of all-inclusive travel. The project was led by a Belgian entrepreneur Gérard Blitz.

The original idea is related to post-war freedom and enjoying life. Their partners Gilbert Triganon with Blitz wanted to build a kind of utopia where people could come from different countries to vacation together.

From tents to fun resorts

The first all inclusive experiments were simple. The accommodation was not even in a hotel, but in a tent. The tent village of Blitz and Trigano was the first to rise in Mallorca, and later also in other Mediterranean destinations.

If nowadays all inclusive is mainly marketed to families and couples, at that time the biggest target group was singles. On vacation, we played games, ate meals together, played and sang, and of course looked for romances. Meals were always communal.

The tents slowly turned into beach huts and then hotels. Ski centers were added to the selection. At the latest in the 80s, Club Med already had numerous worthy competitors. What they all had in common was that you didn’t necessarily have to spend any money in hotels. Everything was paid in advance.

Club Med is still in business, although its style has changed dramatically since its early days. Today, the company has resorts around the world, from the Caribbean to destinations in Africa and Asia. There are also numerous hotels and ski resorts in Europe.

Today, Chinese-owned Club Med has invested in high-quality four- and five-star hotels. The clientele consists mostly of families and couples.

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