In this explorative paper, the focus is on all-inclusive tourism developments, the latest outgrowth of a growing tendency over the decades to develop various types of planned tourism resorts in areas, which are often physically separated from existing communities. More and more of these planned enclave destinations are a direct outgrowth of the neoliberal global regime, which pits many countries and regions in a global place competition as they seek to attract foreign direct investment on a grand scale. Many of these all-inclusive resorts exist out of context of their surroundings and standardized global themes are reflected in characteristics like facility design and activities. Regardless of where these developments occur they do little to acknowledge local geographical contingencies. An overriding question within this paper relates to the role of place in contemporary tourism. Does this situation, then, reflect the fact that the geographical setting of the destination no longer matters? Is it true that in these destinations the activities on offer have replaced locational characteristics as a principal determinant of travel motivation? Among others the discussion focuses on the long-term implications of enclavic tourism, and on the forces and the key players behind their development.