‘Tourist haven’ island that first invented all-inclusive holidays has flights for less than £40

The ease of an all-inclusive holiday - unlimited food and drink paid for upfront so you don't need to worry about a daily budget - is exactly why so many Brits can't get enough of them.

In fact, we love them so much that caps have had to be imposed in some countries on the amount of free booze we quaff on the deals.

If you're looking for holiday inspo, the island that is credited as giving birth to the concept can still be visited for less than £40 a person.

The idea of the all-inclusive was born way back in the 1950s. And of course the first ever beneficiaries of such a holiday were the Brits.

Businessman Vladimir Raitz is the brain behind the business idea after holidaying in 1949.

Visiting the French island of Corsica in the Mediterranean, Raitz was asked about ways to encourage UK residents to holiday there the following year.

Doing the maths, Raitz figured out he could fly a full aircraft of holidayers to Corsica for two weeks, with all food and drink paid for, for under £35 a head (around £900 in 2024 money).

It saw the Russian-British entrepreneur set up Horizon Holidays and create the first ever package holiday.

And he certainly picked somewhere nice for it.

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Corsica is beautiful and, as such, the identity of who it belongs to has been hotly debated for decades.

Technically a French island since 1769 - Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte was even born there - the island feels very Italian due to its close proximity to the island of Sardinia and mainland Italy.

The Good Life France explains: "Despite its French credentials the island retains its own character and has its own distinctive language and customs and has a very definite Italian feel to it.

"These days though the island is a tourist haven, much sought out by sun-seekers and lovers of beautiful scenery.

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"The island offers visitors an amazing variation of landscapes, a rugged sea swept coastline with more than 200 beaches, mountains the interior of the island enjoys deep forests, glacial lakes, gorges where you can walk, maquis-covered slopes and snow-capped granite peaks; wilderness areas attract walkers and nature-lovers – all this on an island of no more than 8,680 square kilometres."

Roughly two million tourists head to Corsica every year due to it being one of the most stunning destinations that's so easily accessibly to most of Europe.

Good news time - you can get to Corsica from the UK in just over two hours.

Flying direct with EasyJet, it takes two hours and 15 minutes to get to Bastia Airport from London Gatwick.

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Flights can be dirt cheap too, starting at around £30 to get there and £30 to get back.

Accommodation isn't too shabby either, starting from £46 per night.

Tourists on Raitz's package holiday, meanwhile, flew from Gatwick to a former military airstrip near Calvi.

Their accommodation wasn't exactly five-star either, as they slept in army surplus tents.

Thankfully, nowadays you can still get a bargain without having to camp.