Timeshare Tourists

With the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) just around the corner, it’s no surprise that lots of research pointing to novel leisure vacation ideas is popping up.

So, when research extolling the virtues and value of owning timeshare properties hits you, there’s a certain sagging feeling of heard-it-all-beforeness.

Ask any UK expat over a certain age what they think about timeshare properties and you’ll get looks of horror, long intakes of breath and reminders of how often the word ‘timeshare’ rolled of the lips of Anne Robinson, the Rottweiler presenter of UK consumer issues show, Watchdog.

Timeshare has had a dodgy reputation in the past, particularly in European locations such as Spain, where Brits bought up 1,000s of them with no knowledge of the nightmare’s they were getting into. But of course, it’s all different out here, so let’s have a look.

Of course, the one thing the timeshare concept has in its favour is that hotel room rates in the UAE are soaring and holiday accommodation in hotspots such as Dubai are in short supply.

So the prospect of timeshare and shared ownership properties could be the answer for many regional holidaymakers.

At least that’s according to a new study which claims to show a growing number of people turning to shared ownership options, when owning a second or additional home in a destination location, such as Dubai.

The research, which was made available yesterday at a conference held at the Burj Al Arab, in Dubai, was commissioned by RCI Middle East, part of the world’s largest holiday exchange and rental travel group, the RCI Global Vacation Network.

Most research undertaken by coroporate entities are basically designed to tell us what the company wants us all to believe, and rarely is it the case, which is why most research ends up in the bin.

However, RCI has at least bothered to interview the minimum number of required candidates to get the message across to us that timeshare is where it’s at.

RCI claims to have interviewed 1,000 candidates in its research, which formed the basis of a programme for an audience of high profile executives from around the world, says RCI.

Stephen Holmes, vice chairman of Cendant Corporation, parent company of RCI, provided the keynote address, along with Awadh Al Ketbhi, director of conventions at Dubai’s department of tourism and commerce marketing.

The research focused on the burgeoning Arab tourist market and the holiday preferences of Arab travellers. More and more of them expressed a preference to holiday within the region, which is worth knowing for all those involved in the local hospitality and leisure sectors.

RCI says it undertook fieldwork during March across a sample of nearly 1,000 high-earning nationals from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iran, Egypt and the UAE.

It engaged the Pan Arab Research Centre, (PARC), to conduct face-to-face interviews, which were then analysed and edited by NorthCourse Advisory Services.

If you’re not very wealthy, this is where you should stop reading, because the research apparently revealed one astounding fact - that the concept of shared ownership products is ideally suited to the higher income Middle Eastern national.

Also, that many Saudi and UAE nationals are more inclined to consider buying a timeshare property over and above other options.

Longer stay purchases, known as practional ownership, typically involving a share of a larger number of weeks rather than just one or two, were also a major preference, especially amongst Kuwaitis and Egyptians.

So that kind of blows out your chances if you’re strapped for cash and want a holiday retreat that also works as an investment.

According to the study, the entire sample travels regularly and holiday choices are largely based upon destinations that offer good family solutions and shopping rather than activity and adventure tourism.

Food and fine dining is definitely high on the agenda for all respondents in the survey. Topics of particular focus during the research were four leisure travel options - family holidays, religious travel, big trips and festive travels.

The clear leader is family holidays, with many travelling in larger groups, with extended family, friends and household staff.

“The larger, more luxurious type of accommodation found within shared ownership developments, can fulfil these requirements perfectly, according to RCI’s news release on the research.

Notably, 40 per cent of Saudi nationals take household staff away with them, and 46 per cent of UAE nationals take their parents. Unsurprisingly, Dubai, and the UAE as a whole, are the most popular destinations for all nationalities, especially when considering a timeshare purchase.

RCI believes that the potential to grow the timeshare market in the Gulf is significant - the Middle East market alone could support $540 million in annual timeshare sales.

With regard to fractional ownership, the most attractive locations were Dubai, Sharm El Sheikh and Mecca. Although this is a smaller market in terms of volume, gross annual sales are estimated at $642 million, greater than for timeshare due to higher-value properties.

RCI says that another exciting new shared ownership product is the religious timeshare, which it says got an extremely positive response among Muslim communities, who all have a common interest in travelling to Mecca.

RCI says the findings of its research clearly demonstrate the major potential for timeshare ownership developments within the Middle East.

However, as with any investment deal, timeshare ownership may sound like a dream holiday/investment solution, but as many Europeans have found to their cost, there can be a downside that needs to be properly explained by those promoting them.