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[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]By Sophia Banay[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Forbes[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Updated: 4:32 p.m. ET Jan. 18, 2006[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]For many people in the travel industry, topless beaches are good for the bottom line. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The American Association for Nude Recreation in Kissimmee, Fla., counts 267 participating businesses and clubs in its membership charter, and nude real estate and nude cruises have, er, taken off. The International Naturist Federation, in Antwerp, Belgium, has over 300,000 members in 60 countries worldwide. The AANR estimates that nude recreation is a $400 million dollar industry in the Western hemisphere alone.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]There are even all-nude resort communities, like Cap d'Agde in the south of France, where clothes are strictly optional everywhere, and specialized tour operators offer clothing-free vacations of every kind, from scuba diving to island-hopping.
Bare Necessities Tour and Travel, an Austin, Texas-based tour operator, is one such organization. "We specialize in nude cruises, although we do many kinds of naturist travel," says Nancy Tiemann, who worked for what is now Bank of America (nyse: BAC - news - people ) before founding Bare Necessities with her husband, an attorney, in 1990. Tiemann has chartered roughly 40 cruise ships from major operators like Carnival (nyse: CCL - news - people ) over the years and cites her annual gross revenue at approximately $2.5 million dollars--not bad for a midlife career change. Not bad for the cruise lines either, which receive an undisclosed percentage.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]"The [nude cruise] industry has grown since we began," says Tiemann. "It's grown because of availability, and because Carnival is looking toward their bottom line." A spokesman for Carnival said the company had no immediate plans to offer another nude charter.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]For clothing-optional resort vacations, the big name is SuperClubs Resorts. The privately held company manages 16 resorts in six countries, including the Grand Lido, Hedonism II and III and Breezes chains, many of which have clothing-optional, or nude, facilities and beaches. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]"The tourism industry in Jamaica in the '70s was in the doldrums," says John Issa, SuperClubs executive chairman, who founded the brand in Jamaica in 1976. "The economy was a mess. To develop a new hotel, I had to do something that didn't exist in Jamaica--something new. I looked at the Club Meds in the French islands--all of which had clothing-optional beaches--and I saw that was part of the attraction for an informal, relaxed holiday." Almost 30 years later, Jamaica's tourism industry is doing quite nicely. Delta Air Lines (nyse: DAL - news - people ), Continental Airlines (nyse: CAL - news - people ) and United Airlines all expanded nonstop service to the island last year, and stop-over arrivals for 2005 were up almost 3% for the year.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]"We've probably had far more impact that our size warrants," says Issa, both on Jamaica's tourism numbers and on the clothing-optional travel industry. "When I started this, the clothing-optional beach and other areas were just additional facilities. Now it's become a much more important segment of the travel industry, and we have loyal customers who come year after year. The Hedonism brand is well-known." Issa won't reveal company financials, because he says he doesn't want to encourage competition. He will say that SuperClubs is looking to expand onto several additional islands. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]As the travel industry continues to regain its footing after a rocky period post-Sept. 11, 2001, and the opening of luxury resorts across the U.S. has slowed, should we expect to see clothing-optional facilities added to new properties? "I don't think there's any doubt that the travel market is going to increase" for clothing-optional resorts and destinations, says Bjorn Hanson, leader of the global hospitality practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers. "I can't quantify it, because it's one of the few things no one's hired us to study." [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]One thing that Hanson's group has examined is the appeal of clothing-optional vacations to baby-boomers within the U.S. They came up with three main reasons for traveler participation. First, nudism evokes a Vietnam-protest-era nostalgia that boomers associate with their college years in the '60s and '70s. Second, baby boomers are in better physical condition than their parents were, are proud of it and are looking to flaunt it. Finally, this type of travel appeals to their sense of adventure and serves as a break from reality--the way a bungee-jumping vacation might.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]There is an incentive for resort operators too, Hanson says. "It's hard to spend as much [money] building a clothing-optional resort" as you would building a traditional one. "There isn't the deluxe option with clothing-optional. Except in places like St. Barts, the product is midprice." According to Issa, Hedonism's rack rates start at approximately $175 per person per night during the high season--and that includes water sports and dining. Compare that to $410 per night at Half Moon Resort, a luxury, noninclusive and clothing-mandatory resort in nearby Montego Bay.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]If the thought of carousing with perfect strangers in the nude gives you cold, um, feet, don't worry, says Sean Hennessey, founder and president of New York City-based Lodging Investment Advisors. "None of the major hotel brands want to have anything to do with that kind of stuff."[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Topless beach-going is a way to experience some of the fun, while still retaining a modicum of modesty. So where are the best places to tan, swim, nap and read in the sun? Most of them are in Europe. The Balearic Islands, which include Ibiza and Formentera, are well-known haunts for the bikini-bottom set, as is almost anywhere in St. Tropez in the south of France, Forte dei Marmi on the Italian Riviera or the Greek Islands. There are also further-flung beaches where bikini tops are as out of place as ties. The coves of Cape Town, South Africa, are particularly full of families and couples, frolicking without giving modesty a second thought. Mexico, Brazil and St. Barts all have their share of topless (or entirely nude) beaches too. Even the U.S. has Black's Beach in San Diego and South Beach in Miami, which are both on our list.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Forbes.com has again compiled our annual list of Top Topless Beaches. To make the list, we imposed a set of general criteria: a recognized consensus to go topless, consistently sunny weather (rain or cold tend to encourage people to keep covered up), beautiful scenery, a young, fun crowd and easily accessible bars, restaurants and boutiques. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]© 2006 MSNBC.com[/FONT]
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