Dubai tourism board set new regulations to protect from timeshare mis-selling.

The timeshare model is not only popular in the US and Europe, but many other countries have adopted their own versions of holiday schemes and membership programmes, that unsurprisingly have left many owners unhappy and out of pocket.

Over in Dubai, where laws and regulations are strict, officials are acting to protect consumers against timeshare mis-selling and scams. They are hoping to put an end to fraud in the timeshare industry once and for all and protect residents. Dubai Tourism will develop new terms and conditions and technical standards that anyone selling or dealing in the timeshare industry will have to abide to before they can operate in the country. This means anyone dealing in timeshare will have to obtain legal permits and approvals before doing so. It also means that anyone wanting to sell timeshare or holiday products will have to be vetted beforehand which will hopefully weed out those individuals or organisations who do not act in the best interests of the public. The new regulations will also list and classify the residential units subject to the new law, Dubai tourism say that this new regulatory environment will stop any fraud in the timeshare industry.

In addition to this Dubai Tourism will also inspect timeshare facilities to ensure they are complying with the new laws. They will also oversee and be responsible for investigating complaints received against anyone or any organisation that works within the timeshare industry. According to the law, Dubai Tourism will establish and manage a database for all facilities operating as timeshare property in Dubai, create the contractual terms for time-sharing, and outline the requirements for timeshare advertisements. The hope is to weed out the bad players in the industry and these strict new laws and regulations will go a long way in doing so.

Timesharing in Dubai

Dubai is one of the fastest growing nations in the world and has become a vacation hotspot for people looking to experience a taste of the Middle East. You can find timeshare resorts in 121 countries and more than 5,400 resorts worldwide and it is estimated that there are around 7 million timeshare owners globally. So, Dubai has seen its fair share of timeshare resorts springing up in the holiday hotspot. The problem is that until now, the industry has not been subject to some of the strict laws and regulations the country in known for executing and some customers have been left out of pocket due to unscrupulous operators. There have been a handful of cases in the country where customers have signed up to timeshares and after either losing a job or experiencing a difficult financial situation the resorts have refused to give money back and relinquish contracts, something they had promised to do. So, the new laws will hopefully stamp out any bad practices and perhaps the industry will fair better if it works with the customers best interest in mind.