The Hindu Business Line : Have time-share, will travel is new credo

LIFE'S uncertain so let's make the best of it. This seems to be the sentiment driving tourists to travel in the past few years, come what may. And this is the attitude that has worked to the advantage of the time-share industry, which continues to grow despite attacks and epidemics.

Says Ms Radhika Shastry, General Manager (India Operations), RCI India Pvt Ltd, "The time-share industry has proven beyond doubt that it is really resilient to shake-ups." People have bought a time-share, so they travel anyway. And hotels across the world, including in India, are increasingly allocating a portion of their rooms to the vacation ownership exchange business because it acts as a cushion in hard times.

RCI claims to be the world leader in vacation ownership exchange, controlling over 85 per cent of the market. Of 3,700 resorts in 100 countries, it has 55 resorts affiliated to it in the Indian region, such as Club Mahindra, the Sterling and Royal groups. Two Le Meridien hotel properties and one belonging to the Orchid Ecotel group have affiliated themselves to RCI. According to Ms Shastry, globally, all the major hotel chains including the Marriott, Hyatt and Hilton associate themselves with the industry.

Holidays no longer mean just granny and mangoes; the goodies have expanded to include skiing in the Alps and scuba-diving in Australia. The choice of destinations and exchange facility offered by this industry, which spurs international travel, make it grow. "A typical hotel is too business-like, too crisp. People now want value-addition, exposure and education from their holiday, and time-share resorts provide all this. It's aspirational," says Ms Shastri.

RCI, which has 48,000 families as members, is growing at 18 per cent in India. In 2003, 14,000 families availed themselves of international exchanges. For Indians, the top foreign destinations continue to be Orlando, with its Disney World, and Las Vegas in the US. Increasingly, the Alps, Spain, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, are becoming popular. China is in vogue as well. Within India, in the summer, the hill-stations are top draw; in the winter, it's the beaches. The hilly regions of North India continue to attract tourists from the South during winter because of the snow. Ms Shastry says that Auli, in Uttaranchal, is emerging as a ski resort in its own right.

Among foreigners, mostly Europeans and South Africans, Goa and Kerala continue to be the most popular choices. `Wellness' resorts with Ayurvedic massages on offer are a big lure. Rajasthan was voted the destination of choice in India. RCI has tied up with two heritage resorts there, and will tie up with more such over the next two years. Kannur and Kozhikode are areas of focus in Kerala. So are Sri Lanka and Nepal. Incidentally, RCI promotes the Indian monsoon as a tourist attraction in West Asia, which leads to high occupancy in resorts and hotels during what is usually a lean period.

RCI is also innovating with industry practices. Generally, time-share owners own a week's vacation in only one place but in India, they like to split it between two, and that is being allowed. Further, some affiliate hotels/resorts have begun to offer RCI points, which can be credited to a user's account for exchange at global destinations later.

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