Want to know which way the timeshare industry is going? Strategies and visions for the future? Interesting info about timeshare trends?

You don’t have to be an industrial spy to obtain this information; it’s available for you on ARDA’s website (American Resort Developers Association). Following this year’s ARDA Convention and Exhibition in Las Vegas, where the timeshare industry comes together to plan, share, and network, ARDA has posted handouts from many of its educational sessions.

The Timeshare Authority blog will be bringing you some of the highlights from ARDA’s educational handouts, but this wealth of data that is available for anyone to download, if you want to check it out for yourself.

For example, here’s a profile on European timeshares and European timeshare owners that is available in the reports.

European Timeshare, (all data based on 2007 findings)

Source: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY of “The European Timeshare Industry 2008”; Market Characteristics & Economic Impacts. Authors: The Christel DeHaan Tourism and Travel Research Institute, University of Nottingham, UK

1. 1.5 million European households own timeshare, with the UK and Ireland having the largest base of timeshare owners.
2. Most timeshare resorts are in Spain, with 26.3 percent of all resorts, 14.94 percent in Italy, and 11.05 percent in the UK and Ireland. The total number of European timeshares is 1,312.
3. European timeshare generates € 3.2 billion of expenditure.
4. European timeshare owners spent € 1.6 billion during their timeshare vacations.
5. European timeshare owners spent € 957 million to buy timeshare.
6. The average expenditure in 2007 per timeshare vacation was € 1,588.
7. 69,836 jobs are directly sustained by the European timeshare industry.
8. 86.6 percent of the European timeshare owners reported satisfaction with their timeshare holiday, while 55.6 percent say they were very satisfied!

Developers Mozdzer, Nemec and Reynolds and their partners Frank Sirchia and Jakub Pilecki are in the process of obtaining zoning modification permits for Freedom Harbor, a new residential and resort timeshare complex, that they describe as a “Gateway” to Florida’s Hillsborough County.

Rich Mozdzer says, “We want it to be the first major destination and the first major sight that people driving up from Sarasota or Manatee County (Florida) see when they come up I-75.”

Plans call for breaking ground on the $150 million project in mid- to late 2011, with a 2012 grand opening. Freedom Harbor will include 200 residential townhome units, a resort community with 200 timeshare units, an assisted independent living facility for up to 350 residents, and a medical center.

Other planned features include two restaurants, an arena for concerts and shows, a year-round snow village, health club, with squash, racquetball, basketball and tennis, and an Olympic size pool. At the resort center will be 90 hotel rooms and rooms for special events.

A 70-acre lake will provide a space for water sports, with nearby nature trails and outdoor areas for relaxation.

Mozdzer adds, “This site has a lot of character, and we’re very excited about maintaining that.”

The development of this new resort and timeshare is expected to bring some 1000 jobs to the area.

Follow this link to learn more about existing opportunities in Tampa-area timeshares:

• St. Pete’s beach timeshare resales
• St. Petersburg timeshare resales

Video from the ARDA (American Resort Development Association) Convention and Exhibition in Las Vegas, March 14-18, 2010.

I want to share with you an interview in which I gave some of my thoughts on the importance of regulating timeshare resales and the secondary market for timeshare sales.

I see such legislation as necessary and beneficial. The secondary timeshare market is growing; it’s undergoing change and now is the right time to put guidelines in place that will protect timeshare sellers and timeshare buyers, and will serve to strengthen and improve the entire industry.

Thank you to my interviewer, David Kerr, former COO of Trades Publishing, Inc.

Here are some of my thoughts on the subject:

The new Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport will open on May 23, making it the first new airport opening in the US since 9/11. For millions of vacationers who enjoy Florida’s Panhandle and its beautiful Gulf Coast beaches, this is outstanding news.

All of your favorite Florida timeshare destinations in areas including Panama City Beach, Destin, and Fort Walton Beach will be easier to reach. The beaches of South Walton include: Rosemary Beach, Sandestin, Watercolor, Alys Beach, Miramar Beach, Seascape, Dune Allen, Santa Rosa Beach, Blue Mountain Beach (the highest spot on the Gulf Coast), Grayton Beach, Sea Grove, Watersound, Seacrest, Inlet Beach, and Seaside, (which also happens to be where the movie “The Truman Show” was filmed). The gorgeous, white sand beaches along the Gulf of Mexico are known as some of the most pristine in the nation.

At the time of the airport’s opening, Southwest Airlines, Delta, and Delta Connection provide by Atlantic Southeast Airlines and Pinnacle Airlines will provide air service with other carriers expected in the future. Between Southwest and Delta, the airport will offer direct flights to six US cities: Orlando, Memphis, Baltimore, Atlanta, Nashville, and Houston.

All you need is your sunscreen, a timeshare resale or timeshare rental, and your ticket to fly… you can almost hear the waves already.