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Traditional timeshares’ moment has passed

By Camilla Turner

THE traditional timeshare is becoming a thing of the past as elderly holidaymakers are no longer satisfied with returning to the same place year after year, figures show.

A desire to travel to far-flung destinations has led to timeshare owners selling off their shares and spending the cash on regular holidays.

Harry Taylor, chief executive of the Timeshare Association, which represents timeshare owners across Europe, said the market of tradi- tional fixed-week timeshares was “in the doldrums”. “The timeshare that came to the UK in the 1980s is now on the decline,” he said. “It doesn’t suit people any more, they want to go to different places. The older age group who want to get out are now finding that they can.”

The company Sell My Timeshare recorded 2,250 people selling or cancelling their timeshare arrangements last year, a 32 per cent rise on 1,704 in 2014. Mr Taylor said that new varieties of timeshare are, however, rising in popularity. “Now there are more flexible timeshares available, for example, ones that allow you to enter for a fixed period like two or three years,” he said.

“There is a points system so you can go to different countries around the world, depending on how many points you have.”

Paul Gardner-Bougaard, head of the Resort Development Organisation, the European trade association for holiday home owners, said: “Elderly customers are now more adventurous, there is a change in appetite.”

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2016-02-17T08:00:00.0000000Z

2016-02-17T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://dailytelegraph.pressreader.com/article/281741268477922

Daily Telegraph