Dubai to be world’s fastest growing timeshare market

Dubai is set to become the world’s fastest growing timeshare market in the world due to the significant increase in the number of tourists, real estate prices and hotel room rates in the emirate over the next decade, a new report suggests.

Titled Slice of Paradise, the report maintains that the timeshare sector will give Dubai economy a Dh14 billion boost in 2020..

“Surging property prices and hotel room rates in the UAE and across the region will lead to a boom in the timeshare sector within the next few years.  Dubai is strategically placed to benefit from the growth in this sector, considering its early adoption of the concept. Further, the growth is expected to take on a speedy upward trend since timeshare is still an emerging sector in Dubai,” noted the report published by Arabian Falcon Holidays (AFH), a Dubai-based timeshare sales and marketing company.

The report said the boom will be most prominent in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, two GCC economies that have already taken a lead in the development of the sector.

The company maintains that, due to the rapid increase in the number of travellers visiting the emirate for business and leisure, Dubai’s timeshare sector has the potential to grow at a rapid pace and contribute at least Dh14 billion to the emirate’s economy in 2020.

“Dubai is one of the top cities in the world that receive frequent international visitors – new and returning ones – both for business or leisure, exceeding those registered by many tourist destinations globally. And this makes Dubai an ideal place to invest in the timeshare sector,” said Mohannad Sharafuddin, Chairman & CEO of Arabian Falcon Holidays.

The timeshare concept marks one of the highest growing rates in the tourist sector. However, its penetration within the Middle East region remains limited. The report maintains that this is likely to change soon.

With property prices in Dubai clocking the fastest growth rate in the world last year, many aspiring property owners in the emirate are being priced out of the second home or vacation homes market, the report suggests. For such people and millions others who visit Dubai on a regular basis and stay in one of the hundreds of hotels around town, an investment in timeshare makes perfect financial sense, it adds.

According to a report from property broker Knight Frank in December 2013, Dubai’s house prices rose at the world’s fastest rate, surpassing price rises in Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Over the last decade, Dubai has established itself as a city of shopping malls, luxurious lifestyle destination and land of opportunities for retailers from all over the world. Now, Dubai has become the number one global tourism destination.

The existing resorts and hotel facilities which operate under the timeshare concept has doubled on a global scale during the last two decades. As of mid-2013, there were about 5,500 timeshare resorts spread across 108 countries, demonstrating the significant footprint of the industry. Globally, shared vacation ownership supported more than 1.1 million jobs in 2010 and generated over $45 billion in direct economic output – which expands to nearly $114 billion when including indirect and induced impacts.

“With property prices in Dubai marking one of the fastest growth in the world, it is expected that this will encourage a lot of people to invest in vacation homes market. For such people and millions others who visit Dubai on a regular basis and stay in one of the hundreds of hotels in the city, an investment in timeshare makes perfect financial sense,” the study highlighted.

Dubai hotel and hotel apartment guests reached 10.5 million in 2013, while residence nights were up 6.3 per cent at more than 41 million. Dubai is expected to receive 20 million visitors by 2020, a number that is bound to get a boost now that Dubai has won the right to organise the World Expo 2020 exhibition, which is expected to receive additional 25 million visitors.

“With only a handful of quality timeshare resort options in Dubai currently, the sector is set to witness a rapid growth in years to come, bolstered by the organic growth that the tourism sector will see,” the study said.

The timeshare sector represents an ideal choice for families from neighbouring GCC countries, as it enables them to cut the cost of accommodation during their holidays/vacation.

The report said: “Timeshare as a market remains recession-proof. This also means that it doesn’t see wild swings on the upside or downside – it provides much-needed stability to the market in times of crisis while providing holidaymakers with less expensive stays during upturns as well as downturns.

“With currently only a handful of quality timeshare resort options in Dubai, the sector is set to witness rapid growth in years to come, bolstered in no small measure by the organic growth that tourism will see. Moreover, the industry will receive a major boost by the additional 25 million visitors that are projected to descend on Dubai in six years from now as a result of the emirate hosting the World Expo 2020.”
 

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