Timeshare Vacationers Overcoming Tumultuous Travel Challenges

Let’s see, there’s ice and snow in south Alabama, flooding in Australia, and it is way below freezing in Ft. Worth, Texas, as the US eastern seaboard deals with yet another winter storm.
Making travel plans or scheduling your timeshare holiday is sometimes challenging but for 2010, it seemed to rise (or would that be fall?) to a whole new level of challenge. And with the weather for 2011 already pulling some big surprises, one has to wonder what this year will hold for travelers.

Last spring’s Icelandic volcano eruption brought the single greatest disruption to global air travel since World War II. According to one recent survey of British travelers alone, more than one in ten dealt with disrupted vacation or travel plans last year. But volcanic ash was only one of many curveballs thrown at travelers in last year.

Some of the 2010 Travel Disruptors Worldwide Include:

• The tragedy of the Haitian earthquake not only devastated the island but changed Caribbean travel plans for many.
• Volcanic eruption in Iceland created an ash cloud that blanketed much of Europe, disrupting travel in some cases for weeks.
• The oilrig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico coated miles of US coastline with slime and sludge, driving visitors away from many southern beaches.
• Smog from Russian wildfires grounded planes and disrupted travel for thousands in Northern Europe.
• Winter storms (December 2010) in the US and in Europe put a damper on holiday travel plans for thousands of travelers. Airport operator BAA estimates its’ costs from the storm to be £24 million (roughly 34 million USD), a number that could double once all reports are in.

How Did these Disruptions Affect Your Timeshare Vacation?

Add to all these disruptions, a random and repeating pattern of airline strikes, less-than-friendly-airport security measures implemented in many US airports, and an economy still suffering from unemployment, tight credit, and a collapsed housing market. And yet, we still long to travel, vacation, and visit our favorite timeshares.

Mark Maddock, managing director at lastminute.com, explains the situation like this: “A triple whammy of erupting volcanoes, bad weather and strikes took its toll both emotionally and financially in 2010.

“That said, our research shows us that no matter what obstacles lie in the way, travelers will not compromise on taking holidays and making the most of our free time: the holiday is considered a right not a privilege according to our report.”

Maddock’s statements may seem a little overly upbeat to many, yet the fact remains, timeshare occupancy rates generally have remained high despite manmade or natural disasters, the economy, and even the weather. Instead of saying, “where there’s a will, there’s a way,” perhaps we should be saying, “where there’s a timeshare, there’s a way!”