I went to Mexico with my family last week, to stay at an all-inclusive resort.  It was an absolutely amazing trip, and spending time together as a family was something we haven’t had a chance to do in years.  Upon our arrival at the resort, however, I was struck by its magnitude, grandeur and general ridiculousness.  Smack in the middle of must have once been a large piece of jungle, extending its concrete splendor down to the pristine oceanfront, I couldn’t help but wonder about the environmental impact of such a massive place.

I searched the web to see what I could find on the subject, and came up with a couple of interesting articles.  The first one was about whether or not all-inclusive resorts can be sustainable or not.  In theory, they could.  However, their bad reputation comes from the fact that a lot of them aren’t.

http://www.responsibletravel.com/copy/can-all-inclusives-be-sustainable

In trying to find out a little more about the hotel that we stayed at, I found a development proposal by the same company for a resort in Jamaica. http://www.elaw.org/system/files/Hotel+Bahia+EIA+Report+-+Final.pdf

It was uplifting to see that extensive research had gone into planning to put a similar massive resort on the oceanfront, and that the impact on the flora and fauna, marine environment, and socio-economic situation had all been considered in the process.  I know that projects such as these can still be pushed through despite reports of major negative impact in the planning stage, (such as the Walmart being put in in my hometown, which is a rant for another time), but it was nice to know that environmental impact had at least been considered on some level beforehand.