Answer this question: From the hotelâs perspective list and explain how you would handle four issues you could see come up from this type of tourism?
Many travelers are disgruntled over the fees being charged for checking a second piece of luggage, but there is a select group of people unaffected by the increased cost of traveling by air. Travelers seeking a nudist destination wonât be needed the extra space in their suitcases. âClothing optionalâ vacations are becoming more popular as tourists seek to add a new dimension to their out of town experience. The average person may picture a nudist colony being in the middle of the woods occupied with hippies, volleyball courts and RV parks. Although these developments still exist, the new trend is towards high end travel with upscale hotels, resorts and even some luxury cruise lines. Companies are beginning to see the profit potential in this new market as many travelers want to shed their clothing but not their luxury lifestyles.
In 2003 an all inclusive, nude only, luxury resort opened along the Mayan Riviera in Mexico. When staying at this $300 a night hotel, guests are greeted with champagne, have rose petals spread across their beds and are offered reading materials and towels while relaxing by the pool. A similar resort can be found in the Desert Hot Springs, California with room rates ranging from $269 to $900 a night. Guests can expect to have Egyptian bed linens, flat-screen TVs and natural mineral water pumped into their showers. Other upscale resorts will set aside blocks of rooms for nude guests while some have started the process by allowing topless pools. The housing market has also caught sight of this trend and a new clothing optional condo resort in Arizona has recently sold over one hundred condos.
The nude recreational industry has jumped from being a $200 million market in 1992 to a $440 million market in 2007, and it is still growing strong. Nude vacation options range from yoga retreats, and mountain biking adventures, to bed and breakfasts and cruise lines. A new German travel operator is arranging nude flights to take travelers to clothing optional retreats. Nude vacationers say that what they enjoy most is liberation from the typical pretenses of society.
Source: No Shoes, No Shirt, No Worries. By Michelle Higgins. April 27, 2008. http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/04/27/travel/27nude.html