Re: First Choice holidays will make all its holidays "all inclusive" from next year,


IMHO, a very good and well-thought out comment, and reflects the reality of what is to come, if AI is universally adopted. And should that happen, the endless circle would begin all over again after a few years. Because of the potential pitfalls in administering this method of providing holidays, the first to suffer will be the peripheral businesses depending on the Hotels' clients for their income. When the Hotels finally gain a monopoly (which they undeniably seek), the quality and standards of the holidays on offer will drop. They will no longer have to compete with local restaurants and Bars, and so they will be free to return to the 'bad old days' when the quality of their drinks and food was abysmal. Cheap alocohol sold at enormous mark-ups (oh, yes , once they have monopoly, there will be limits put on how much your AI holiday provides 'for free' in the Bar, quality and quantity of food etc etc).It WILL become a two-tier system, with a small amount of cheap cra p for 'free', and another strata of goods and services which will only become available for a fee.
THEN, the Entertainment Agencies who supply the Entertainment, who will have become solely dependent for their income from the Hotels, will also start to be squeezed and squeezed, resulting in cheap and poor entertainment too.
And then the British Holiday Agents will be squeezed on prices...and the AI prices will start to escalate...or the Travel Agents will simply abandon them, because they won't be able to coerce Tourists into buying their excursions etc. THEY are where they make the butter to put on the basic bread they get from providing package holidays.
There again...the Russian market is burgeoning at the moment, and probably will continue to do so, because their economy is relatively strong because it is based on Energy supply to a greater extent of Europe now. The 'jokey' threads posted in the past here about changing the names of Brit Bars to Russian ones may well become a reality in the near future.
The main reason I get fed up with the Ad Hominem threads of gripes against Ryanair is simply because they might soon become the sole source of British Tourists, and I can hardly see some of the Bars in Salou being able to adapt to Russian and Eastern Countries' clients. Some of them can barely speak Spanish, let alone Russian. Russians have also started quite agressive purchasing of properties and businesses in Spain, and with a weak British Tourist influence in Salou, many businesses would become easy, and cheap pickings.
So...what can WE do to combat this tsunami of AI?
Instead of pouring valuable resources into ridiculous new'Premium Card' scam,(we already have a good one in operation here...another is a superfluous waste of MONEY) start promoting Salou on British TV. The apparent subscriptions to one, which is a recent arrival to Salou, would have comfortably paid for quite a few TV adverts in the UK, or alternatively, many more Radio adverts,which would have encouraged people looking for Holiday destinations to try Salou, instead of just trying to drain more money out of people already coming anyway.
I truly cannot grasp the thinking behind pumping nearly 100,000 euros EARNED in Salou,into a scheme which isn't even BASED in Salou.
You have effectively exported 100,000 euros of Salou's business capital which SHOULD have remained here, to HELP Salou.
After all, Salou has exactly the same, and superior, services which could have been expanded and improved by the injection of that Capital, instead of kissing it goodbye to line the coffers of a business which quite honestly, see Salou as a means to increase THEIR wealth,and nothing more, without helping to improve our facilities at all.
And before the ad hominem jibes and snide comments against MY opinions start: I stand to neither gain nor LOSE from my opinions and suggestions. I am only trying to HELP Salou businesses by trying to broaden the horizon of perceptions they are limited to by not thinking more deeply about options that ARE available to HELP SALOU.

nick i agree wih your comments but are you afraid to mention madmax's website salou spotlight, any website be it salou uncovered or salou spotlight should be praised for the work they do in promoting salou as a whole, i for one visit both websites on a daily basis,salou would not be the same without either of them,long may both websites continue.

Salou has zillions of tourists that enjoy staying in apartments.

Also if entertainers didnt charge extortionate prices the salou nightlife would be alot better. In benidorm there are some great acts at half the price of salou acts.

the entertainers here do not charge exorbitant fee's we do a dam good job for a fair fee infact to help i have taken a pay cut. benidorm has a cancer of poor tacky acts who are under cutting each other just to get the gig and nick is right the AI will close buisnesses down i allready see people who do not bring spending money away as everything is included at the hotel

No not afraid Keith .

It is irrelevant as to WHERE the original thread was posted, IMHO, and so irrelevant to name it. The THREAD was the relevant thing, not WHERE it was posted . Whichever messenger delivered the message, it doesn't matter
Sadly, and as expected, it was met with a reluctance to intelligently discuss my comments, and replied to with rhetoric and fudging. I usually hope for better results here, but the same ol' 'Nick' trolls follow me everywhere (NOT referring to you though ).

I support businesses and people who live in, and contribute to SALOU, not advocating putting tens of thousands of euros, earned in Salou, in 'outsiders' pockets, where it will remain. Support our own, not some setup with themselves ONLY on their minds. I'm dismayed that people here have abandoned our own fellow business owners in favour of some 'out-of-town' errrmmm...set-up.
Of course, should this Season be an improved one, triumphant claims of 'I told you so' will ring out around Salou, and no heed paid to the fact that the disastrous economy and dangers to be experienced this and coming years, in other Tourist Countries will help Salou, and Spain in general,have a more fruitful Season than the last 2 or three.

Hi Nick,
It would be interesting to know who´s getting 100.000€ and why. Also who is given this money away. Please give their names, we would like to know whats going on. If you like, send me the details on a email.
Thank you.