NATIONAL REPORT— “The 2000 National Leisure Travel Monitor,” co-authored by Yesawich, Pepperdine & Brown and Yankelovich Partners and sponsored in part by Interval International, provides a snapshot of the emerging lifestyles of today’s travelers and reveals that vacation ownership is an increasingly attractive vacation product for consumers. An analysis of the social values and travel trends of adults who would consider the purchase of a timeshare or vacation time during the next two years— 17% of all leisure travelers— offers a number of compelling insights. All In The Family Now more than ever before, a vacation is viewed as an occasion for which to reunite the “family.” Forty-nine percent of leisure travelers interested in purchasing a timeshare plan to take one or more vacations with children this year (see Figure 1). Not surprisingly, fully 70% of adults say their children are influential in their decisions about where to vacation. In addition, more than one-half of these individuals feel their children are influential in deciding the actual dates of travel. Leisure travelers interested in purchasing a timeshare are even more likely than their counterparts to say their children are influential in decisions about the selection of accommodations when on vacation. Multi-generational family travel is also on the rise. According to the “Meredith Family Vacation Study,” undertaken annually by the Travel Industry Association of America, 20% of last year’s family vacations, more than 17 million trips, included three generations who were traveling together. “The trends we see developing reflect the general mood of our society,” said Paul Rishell, president for the Americas for Interval International. “These include a focus on family values and the family unit. This focus has played a significant role in the growth of our industry, as the decision to purchase timeshare often has its basis in a commitment to family time and activities that allow family participation.” A Desire For Space When traveling for leisure during the last 12 months, 83% of adults who were interested in purchasing timeshare stayed in a hotel or motel. This group is more likely to prefer luxury, all-suite and full-service accommodations (see Figure 2), presumably because many are traveling with children and accommodations that feature multiple bedrooms, full kitchens and laundry facilities hold great appeal. More than 54% of leisure travelers interested in purchasing vacation time have stayed in a condominium resort. Nearly 80% are interested in staying at such a resort during the next two years, a significantly higher proportion than for those who have not stayed in a condominium resort. This, again, reinforces the fact that condominium-style accommodations suit the lifestyle of today’s leisure travelers— a fact that bodes well for the future growth of the vacation ownership industry. “Today’s consumers want the pleasures of home in the vacation destination of their choice,” said Rishell. “Timeshare offers both, and this is a significant reason why the concept is attractive to a growing number of leisure travelers.”
