At today’s SKAL club lunch-meet, guest speaker David Clifton elaborated on why the Middle East could grow to be the next big thing in regional hospitality development.
Dubai is currently waiting for specific timeshare regulation to be passed any day now and this will have a major impact on the choice of accommodation development by investors in hospitality real estate
Shedding light on why Dubai is predicted to be one of the “super timeshare cities” David Clifton said, “Timeshare allows the consumer the opportunity to not rent accommodation but to buy an increment of time that will allow them access to different accommodations around the world each year for different periods of time.
Timeshare has greatly evolved over the last four decades allowing much more flexibility along with the high quality properties available from leading independent hoteliers and international brands contributing to higher acceptance among consumers”
With the obvious hospitality boom in Dubai, many developers and investors are already planning ahead of regulation to add timeshare to their portfolios. In Dubai, The Royal Club on the trunk of the Palm Dubai, from developer Arabian Falcon has 50 units and is nearing sellout. The Torch project at the Dubai Marina is a fractional timeshare project, and is already achieving great success.
Clifton stressed that timeshare is a sector that must be understood thoroughly and managed with respect: “This is a business model that once understood brings enormous value to the table of everyone involved – the investor, the developer, the operator and, ultimately, the consumer,” he concluded.
The luncheon was attended by over 50 Dubai SKAL Club members, which included SKAL President, Trevor Owens of Alpha Tours among many other guests
This appearance is in advance of a sector-specific vacation ownership forum which is expected to attract more than 150 senior business executives representing the main players in the region’s timeshare and fractional ownership sector at the Vacation Ownership Investment Conference (VOIC) next month (Arabian Court, Royal Mirage, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, March 6 2007).
For more information visit www.vacationownershipinvestment.com
Middle East Media enquires for Interval International - Euro RSCG Furness susan.furness@eurorscgfurness.com, tel +97150 6556126
International Media Enquires – Interval International
Adrian Bascombe +44 (0) 20 8336 9573, adrian.bascombe@intervalintl.com
ABOUT INTERVAL INTERNATIONAL
Interval International, a leading vacation ownership exchange company, is celebrating 30 years of quality and innovation. Interval has a global network of more than 2,000 affiliated resorts in over 75 countries, and serves its developer clients and 1.8 million member families through 28 offices in 19 countries. The company provides a variety of services and year-round travel-related benefits to enhance members’ vacation experiences. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, Interval International is part of IAC, which operates leading and diversified businesses in sectors being transformed by the Internet, online and offline. Other IAC companies include Ask.com, Citysearch, Entertainment Publications, HSN, LendingTree, and Ticketmaster.
ABOUT SKAL CLUB
Skål is a professional organisation of tourism leaders around the world, promoting global tourism and friendship. It is the only international group uniting all branches of the travel and tourism industry. Its members, the industry's managers and executives, meet at local, national, regional and international levels to discuss and pursue topics of common interest.
The first Club was founded in 1932 in Paris by travel managers, following an educational tour of Scandinavia. The idea of international goodwill and friendship grew and, in 1934, the “Association Internationale des Skål Clubs” was formed with Florimond Volckaert as its first President, who is considered the “Father of Skål”.
Skål International today has approximately 22,000 members in 500 Clubs throughout 90 nations. Most activities occur at local level, moving up through National Committees, under the umbrella of Skål International, headquartered at the General Secretariat in Torremolinos, Spain.
Skål International is governed by an Executive Committee of seven members, elected by delegates to an annual General Assembly, held during the World Congress, hosted by a different country each year. This allows members first-hand observation of the travel and tourism potential around the world.
