Timeshare company proves resilient during challenging times

However, timeshare has continued to grow, reflecting resilience to the negative factors, which have greatly impacted tourism and travel. RCI, the world's leading timeshare company, boasts a 75% share of the worldwide market.

RCI has 3,700 resorts and more than 3,000,000 individual members worldwide. RCI Middle East was established is the early 1990's with headquarters in Cairo, Egypt. RCI recently launched a call center in Dubai to service all members across the Middle East region. Dubai was because it is the business hub for the Middle East, with economic and political stability. In addition, the high-technology environment offered at Dubai Internet City is ideal for running such a business.

RCI's priority is to improve the image of timeshare, due to perceptions formed when the concept was first introduced across the region and is key for the company's success. RCI, has led in lobbying governments to form legislations ensuring timeshare can operate ethically and expand significantly, by encouraging competitors to join in their efforts to do so. "RCI does not feel threatened by competition and believes that a competitive market, is a healthy one in which timeshare should operate," explained Raju Shahani, President RCI Asia and Middle East.

Some of the world's leading brand names, such as, Four Seasons, Hilton, Marriott and Disney have also run very successful timeshare businesses. As other property owners, hotels and hospitality groups grasp a true understanding of timeshare and become a part of it, the impact of the negative factors, which have inflicted great losses for the travel and tourism industry, over the last few years will be minimal. Initiatives such as timeshare tend to maximize occupancy, revenues and profits, this is due to the fact that timeshare appeals to families and in troubled times the family becomes more important than ever.

RCI is currently embarking on campaigns to provide these stakeholders in the travel and tourism industry with solutions. As part of RCI's initiatives for the Asia and the Middle East regions, the Dubai operation will eventually do more than service RCI Members. The second phase of the expansion will incorporate a business development (B2B) function that is expected to bring new affiliations from the area into the RCI fold.