There are 5,400 vacation ownership resorts located in 95 countries, with 58.5 percent of the resorts found in six countries.

• Over 6.7 million households worldwide now own a vacation interval, with owners residing in over 270 countries.
• The U.S. is the leader in the worldwide vacation ownership resort market, with over 1,600 resorts, and over 3.9 million vacation owners.
• As an aggregate profile, the typical vacation owner is an upper-middle-income, middle-aged, well educated couple. Of U.S. vacation owners, 69.5 percent have incomes over $50,000, 68 percent are 50 years of age or older, and 64.2 percent have at least a bachelor's degree.
• As of 1998, 71.1 percent of U.S. households feel they have a chance of purchasing recreational property within the next 10 years.
• Americans prefer the ocean/beach for recreational property ownership, followed by mountain settings and lakes, in that order.
• Of more than 2,653 U.S. vacation owners surveyed. 85 percent claimed satisfaction with their vacation purchases.
• Most important among the motivational benefits cited by U.S. owners in their decision to purchase vacations were the high quality accommodations of the resorts at which they own and exchange, followed by the flexibility offered through vacation exchange opportunities, the value of vacation ownership and the Credibility of the timeshare company

 (Reprinted with permission of ARDA)