TIMESHARE IN AUSTRALASIA

Source: Carey Martin, a trade journal editor working in the Australian property industry

March 14, 1999
RCI research indicates that timeshare in Australia and the South Pacific has great potential. In the last few months RCI Australasia has affiliated a further three resorts in Fiji and its first in Rarotonga -- a refurbished hotel which is being marketed with a 30-year right to use and ranging in price from NZ$8,500 for a studio up to NZ$12,500 for a two-bedroom unit. And in Australia, off-site sales centers have proliferated with a further six being opened and two more planned.

Australasia now has 117 timeshare resorts with 84,000 owners. At just 2.2 percent of the world total, this may not seem like much until Robert Martini from RCI Australasia explains that the Gold Coast could support a further 300-400 units and still not meet the North American demand. "Australia is their dream vacation, " he said.

With the collapse of the Australian dollar against the US dollar and major European currencies, Australia and Asia have become even more popular on the exchange market, especially Bali -- despite the Indonesian political problems according to Martini.

As the Australian timeshare industry has matured, Griffith University in Queensland has incorporated specific timeshare studies into its tourism and hotel management courses and the university's Centre for Tourism and Hotel Management Research completed a report on the Australian timeshare industry in 1997 based on two extensive surveys.

Of the surveyed resorts, only six were established before 1979 with the largest development growth being in the 1980s when 37 timeshares were built. Around 70 percent have been purpose-built, the balance have mostly been converted from strata units (similar to condos) and motels. Most timeshare resorts in Australia are in Victoria or Queensland.

This growth is being achieved in tandem with the industry's maturation into more than just resort beach accommodation. Special interest resorts, such as urban locations, those for golf, and soft adventure such as outback experiences, are attracting interest from timeshare developers. This trend is expected to continue into the foreseeable future.