The American Resort Development Association has received results from the second stage of its State of the U.S. Timeshare Industry 2002 research, including a revised count of the number of resorts and…
The American Resort Development Association has received results from the second stage of its State of the U.S. Timeshare Industry 2002 research, including a revised count of the number of resorts and timeshare units in the U.S., their locations by state, and consumer data suggesting timeshare weeks only very rarely go unused by their owners.
According to the survey, 1,571 timeshare resorts were identified in the U.S., an increase of more than five percent per year since January 1997, when 1,204 were identified. Worldwide, 5,310 resort properties were identified by the study.
Florida was once again the state with the largest timeshare presence, both in number of resorts and in number of units. Second to Florida was California, followed by South Carolina. The total number of timeshare units in the United States is estimated by the study to be greater than 130,000.
One of the most interesting items resulting from the study was an account of how timeshare weeks were used by their owners in a recent 12-month period. Between using them at the home resort or for exchange travel (86.8 percent) and offering them, for free or for rent, to friends and family (6 percent), all but about 6.5 percent of timeshare weeks were used for vacationing.
I believe a high utilization rate says great things about timeshare’s ability to benefit its community, especially in tougher economic times, said ARDA President Howard Nusbaum. If only six percent are going unused, that means close to 95 percent of timeshare weeks are filled, and those vacationers are spending discretionary dollars, which positively impact local economies.
The complete ARDA State of the U.S. Timeshare Industry 2002 report, which will include business, performance and demographic timeshare data, will be available by the close of the fourth quarter, 2002.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
