The Orlando Sentinel’s Sara Clarke has been at this week’s ARDA timeshare convention, and she came away with a very upbeat take on the future of the timeshare industry.

Yes, the credit freeze has hurt the industry. But financing is flowing again. (Not to mention the new, industry-revolutionary option to finance timeshare resales. See: Sell My Timeshare NOW and Prosper.com Partner, Bringing Timeshare Financing to the Resale Market).

As Jim Lewis, president of Disney Vacation Club timeshares and ARDA’s outgoing chairman says, “We survived, we’re beginning to thrive. We might not be there yet — we’re clearly not all the way there — but there are some encouraging signs.”

In 2007, timeshare sales from developers (not including the resale market) hit $10 billion. In 2009, that number dropped to $6.3 billion.

Full 2010 numbers aren’t in but they are expected to have either stabilized or show an upturn.

The market is returning domestically and internationally, with international looking to play a stronger than ever role in future business.

“As an industry, we’re back in a growth mode,” says Don Harrill, ARDA’s incoming chairperson and the president and chief executive officer of Holiday Inn Club Vacations.

And the Timeshare Authority blog adds to that sentiment, because growth mode in the industry means lives are stabilizing, families are regaining financial confidence, and good things are ahead for all!

Be sure you check out the full Sentinel article here: Time-share industry sees growth ahead