Le Minh Tri, general director of SAPro, a member of the Rang Dong Corporation which is the complex project owner, told the Daily that the company would issue Vacation Ownership cards next month, targeting local travelers and expatriates who plan to travel every year.

Tri said the company would issue 500 to 1,000 cards whose values range from US$12,000 to US$15,000 each. Card holders are entitled to spend a week in a 300-square meter villa of the resort each year for the next 20 years and may choose any week of the year.

Tri said Sea Links Golf Resort would be linked to other resorts around the world through the Resort Condominium International (RCI) which is an organization for room exchange. RCI will function as a bridge to help holiday-makers take their week-holiday trips to other countries for free.

According to RCI, there are some three million members and 4,000 resorts worldwide in the system. Among Asian countries, Japan, Malaysia, Korea and India top the list of countries applying for Vacation Ownership.

Tri noted that regulations permitted a card holder to bring five family members on each trip. For example, with a US$12,000 card, the holder would spend US$600 a week for his holidays over 20 years. But a three-bedroom villa for six holiday-makers would come to only US$86 per night, or about US$14 per person.

SAPro said card holders could resell, rent or give away their cards.

The company also said Vacation Ownership is a solution for tourism property projects which face a dim outlook due to the global economic downturn.

Most tourism projects on the coast are finding it hard to sell luxury villas which are worth tens of thousands, even millions, of U.S. dollars each.