GNEX 2011 Timeshare And Fractional Expo Is A Resounding Success

May 19, 2011 - PRLog -- The inaugural Global Networking Expo, GNEX 2011, exceeded expectations as Perspective Magazine’s timeshare and fractional expo gathered industry professionals from around the world for two days of networking and open discussion about the state of the vacation ownership industry.

The spectacular Atlantis Resort in Nassau, Bahamas, was the venue during May 11-12, 2011, as representatives from over 80 companies came together to share best practices, discuss new development projects and provide a frank discussion on topics such as the effect of rentals, travel clubs and resales on the industry.  

“As it was our first conference there was naturally a ‘let’s wait and see mentality’ so our main priority was to ensure those that attended had a good time and got real value from the event,” said Paul Mattimoe, president and CEO, Perspective Magazine. “From the feedback we have received, we certainly succeeded and the demand for information on GNEX 2012 is tremendous. We are in the final stages of confirming our next conference and are very much looking forward to continuing to mould GNEX into exactly what delegates want from a modern event format.”  

The morning of Day One saw the Honorable Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, Minister of Tourism and Aviation for the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, open the conference with an impressive presentation about the current and future status of economic development projects in the Bahamas. According to Senator Vanderpool-Wallace, if Nassau was a country in its own right it would be number three for per capita gross domestic product output in the Western Hemisphere and would also be number two in the Caribbean for total visitors. Nassau is undergoing a revitalization project with plans to include new downtown infrastructure, a new container port, new airport construction, new roads and a new sports stadium. This is in addition to the new Baha-Mar project slated for the Cable Beach area that is estimated to be the largest single phase development in the history of the Caribbean.

Ron Kurtz, president of the American Affluence Research Center (AARC), announced the results of his Spring 2011 survey of affluent Americans, which he defines as the wealthiest 10 percent of U.S. households. The level of interest from affluent Americans in acquiring vacation home access is essentially back to 2007 levels, with increased interest in fractional ownership as compared to whole ownership. Interest in all levels of vacation ownership, whether it be timeshare, destination clubs or fractional/private resident clubs, has increased from the Spring 2009 survey conducted by the AARC.

Orlando Arroyo, Chairman, Sunset World Resorts, discussed the progress of his developments in the Cancun/Riviera Maya region of Mexico. One of Cancun’s founding fathers in the 1970’s, Mr. Arroyo’s holdings have progressed from one beachfront resort to six hotels and 22 tourism companies and he discussed his philosophy for success centered on constant innovation based on client feedback. He is also a big believer in value-added amenities such as the establishment of a yacht club and equestrian center to compliment his resorts and is heavily involved in e-business, web-based e-commerce and social media outreach programs designed to maintain contact with customers.

“We featured so much session content that it is hard to mention it all at once, but we will be adding photos, videos and news and magazine articles to the conference website shortly,” added Mattimoe. “But I would like to extend personal thanks to Craig Nash, chairman, president and CEO of Interval Leisure Group, who was one of our keynote speakers and provided a very informative presentation on the latest developments of Interval International as well as his view of the current state of the vacation ownership industry.”  

GNEX 2011 also included the inaugural Perspective Magazine Awards Gala dinner, where winners were announced from nearly 150 nominees in a wide variety of categories such as Best Resort Development, Best Innovation Award and Entrepreneur of the Year. A full list of award winners can be viewed at http://perspectivemagazine.com/gnex/category/gnex-2011/

Sponsors and supporters of GNEX 2011 included:
The Absolute World Group, Blue Strawberry Resorts, Dial an Exchange, Resort Television, Yucatan Holidays, Citadel Trustees Limited, Connex, First American Title Insurance Company, ICE, Interval International, LeisureLink, Lloydshare , Max Generation, RCI, First National Trustee Company, Alternative Ownership Conference Asia Pacific (AOCAP), Australian Timeshare & Holiday Ownership Council (ATHOC), Canadian Resort Development Association (CRDA), Cooperative Association of Resort Exchangers (CARE), La Asociación Mexicana de Desarrolladores Turísticos (AMDETUR), Ragatz Fractional Interest Conference, Resort Development Organisation (RDO), Vacation Ownership Association of Southern Africa (VOASA), American Airlines, Avis Rent A Car and Christel House International as Charity of Choice.

About Perspective Magazine
Perspective Magazine publishes four regional brands: industry publications Perspective Magazine North America, Perspective Magazine Europe & Middle East, Perspective Magazine South Africa and Perspective Magazine Asia Pacific. Together, the industry magazines are the most read independent trade publications globally for the shared ownership industry and the company is a media sponsor of 30 major industry events around the world. The company’s consumer magazine, Owners Perspective Magazine, is the only independent consumer publication that specializes in promoting the benefits of buying shared ownership products to the general public.  Distribution is via a variety of high-profile consumer channels including, but not limited to, more than 150 first class airport lounges worldwide with over a dozen airlines such as British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Emirates, Singapore Airlines, American Airlines, United Airlines, and Delta as well as hundreds of luxury hotels, resorts, spas and golf clubs.

For more information, please visit http://perspectivemagazine.com/gnex or email Steve Luba, Director of Public Relations, at steveluba(at)perspectivemagazine.com. For information on advertising and editorial opportunities visit http://perspectivemagazine.com/advertise.