SINGAPORE, April 14, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- RCI®, the global leader in vacation exchange, and part of the Wyndham Worldwide family of brands (NYSE: WYN), recently hosted its first Korean Global Hotel Tour and Seminar in Singapore. The conference is jointly organized by RCI Asia Pacific and Business Hotel Forum, the biggest non-profit hotel association in Korea.
About 30 guests from hotel groups and developers in South Korea were present at the conference, such as the Korea Tourism Organization, ERA Korea, Asia Asset Management, IlJin Sam Young Global, Hando Investment, HanSeung Investment Development, Taejo Construction, and PK LAND Development, among others.
The half-day conference focused on the growth, development, trends and opportunities in the hotel and tourism-related real estate industries. An array of the hottest topics in today's marketplace were covered, including the different business models available in the hotel industry, case studies on the success of shared ownership around the world and how they can be successfully introduced into a developers' menu of recreational real estate offerings.
The conference was conducted by Gavin Cheong, director of Business Development for North Asia, RCI Asia Pacific. Cheong has over 25 years of experience in the airline, hotel and travel industries, and is responsible for developing business for new and existing clients in North Asia.
With his extensive industry knowledge and track record of success, he provided valuable insights to on how developers can further grow their business in partnership with RCI.
"After this seminar, we have a better understanding of the new global hotel industry trend and learned about new business model strategy that we can apply to our hotel business. We see a bright future for the hotel industry in South Korea," said Jung Sangman, President of Mode Tour REIT. "We really appreciate RCI for organizing this conference for our Business Hotel Forum Members, and we look forward to attending similar events in future."
South Korea is a booming tourism market with significant double digit growth in the past few years, with a record annual growth of 11.3% in 2012, and 12 million visitors in 2013. The South Korean government has targeted tourism as a major growth area, and shared ownership products may provide an option to the government's call for the diversification and innovation in tourism products.
"Shared ownership has become main-stream with many hotel developers around the world adopting a mixed-use model. The marketplace is evolving and both developers and hospitality operators are looking at new business models to improve ROI and deliver enhanced operating synergies," said Adrian Lee, managing director, RCI Asia Pacific.
About RCI
RCI is the worldwide leader in vacation exchange with nearly 4,500 affiliated resorts in more than 100 countries. RCI pioneered the concept of vacation exchange in 1974, offering members increased flexibility and versatility with their vacation ownership experience. Today, through RCI® Weeks, the traditional week-for-week exchange system, and RCI Points®, the industry's first global points-based exchange system, RCI provides flexible vacation options to its approximately 3.7 million RCI subscribing members each year. RCI's luxury exchange program, The Registry Collection®, is the world's largest program of its kind with approximately 200 affiliated properties either accessible for exchange or under development on six continents. RCI is part of Wyndham Exchange & Rentals and the Wyndham Worldwide family of brands (NYSE: WYN). For additional information visit our media center, rciaffiliates.com or The RCI Blog. RCI also can be found on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.
Media Contacts:
Tania Sim
Tania.sim@rci.com
