Middle East could stand to earn USD2 billion from emerging timeshare industry

Headlines from the report's executive summary highlight the untapped potential for vacation ownership in the Middle East. Carried out by renowned industry research organisation, Ragatz Associates, the study highlights the huge potential the Middle East region offers property developers thinking of investing in the tourism industry.

Taking into consideration key factors like the number of inbound tourists and the number of income eligible households in the region, estimates show that potential sales of timeshare could exceed $2 billion dollars within seven years.

The Middle East currently has 31 timeshare resorts representing less than one per cent of the total number of timeshare resorts in the world. Most are located in Egypt. The report, however, predicts that United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria are all destinations with qualities that could support timeshare infrastructure and attract consumers.

RCI's Director Middle East,Vivienne Noyes Thomas said:

"The current explosion in leisure and tourism property development in the UAE and throughout the Gulf offers potential timeshare developers the opportunity to enter a rapidly developing industry from the outset and establish the concept of long-term holiday ownership, making timeshare a credible and attractive choice for the consumer."

Over 6.7 million households worldwide own timeshare and resort timesharing and holiday ownership products are consistently the fastest-growing sector of the worldwide tourism industry. In contrast, a mere 31,180 residents of the Middle East own timeshare and over 92 per cent of what they own is located in Egypt.

For leisure and tourism developers, the timeshare model offers enhanced occupancy levels, secured revenue streams, increased profitability and returns on investment, with the opportunity to own the customer for the long term. RCI is the global leader in providing exchanges for owners of timeshare and holiday ownership products - a concept that is a cornerstone of the consumer proposition when selling timeshares. 30 years of experience at the heart of the industry brings unrivalled expertise to the table to support prospective developers and business partners.

RCI has opened its newest office, in Dubai Internet City, the heart of this dynamic region to support future industry growth in the coming years.