The overall consensus from delegates and industry experts taking part in the Vacation Ownership Investment Conference 2008 (VOIC) last month was that the Middle East presented a huge growth opportunity area for vacation ownership.
“No doubt vacation ownership is on the cusp of unprecedented growth. Interest in this dynamic sector is at an all day high and governments are rapidly recognising the positive contribution vacation ownership brings to their tourism goals and objectives,” said organiser David Clifton, managing director, Europe, Middle East & Africa, Interval International.
“We have identified the Middle East as having high potential for vacation ownership growth; intraregional tourism is flourishing and more international tourists are discovering the wide variety of tourism opportunities in the Middle East. It is only natural that timeshare will flourish here as it has across the globe,”
Interval International is a provider of vacation services and an operating business of IAC. He said that the objective of this fourth VOIC conference was to help participants learn more about this mainstream hospitality product.
The conference also saw debate on the implementation of new vacation ownership regulations, approved by Dubai’s Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA). A panel discussion, lead by Tom Bell, vice president of government affairs, Interval International, provided an outline of what the new regulations contained and what this meant for developers, marketers and the consumer.
Over 160 industry professionals attended the two day event at Arabian Court, One&Only Royal Mirage, making it the most subscribed VOIC to date.
“The response to VOIC 2008 has been outstanding. Next year we may have to consider changing venue due to increased interest,” Clifton said.