Timeshare’s status as an unheralded engine room of Australia’s tourism industry was recently confirmed in research study conducted by AEC Group that calculated the industry’s 2012 economic output at $616.5 million.
Now Ballarat’s own timeshare resort, WorldMark South Pacific Club by Wyndham Ballarat has, as indicated by the report, contributed up to AUD$6 million worth of value added activity in 2014 within the Ballarat economy (including transport to, from and during the resort stay); as well as providing 32 jobs and injecting more than $1.5 million in wages and salaries into the local community.
The data, compiled by research firm AECgroup, illustrates a tourism sector outstripping the broader industry on key growth metrics including occupancy, visitor spend and satisfaction, and domestic visitation.
The industry’s 2012 economic output grew 22.3% from 2009 and includes an incredible 48.4% growth in Gross Value Add, timeshare’s ‘bottom line’ economic injection.
Other key timeshare industry facts include:
-Timeshare occupancy for 2012 was 90.4%, ahead of the industry average 70.9% (Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics Tourist Accommodation, Small Area Data, Australia, Mar 2012 to Dec 2012. Cat. No. 5506.0, Canberra);
-The number of Australian timeshare owners holidaying domestically grew 17% from 2009, far ahead of the national domestic tourism growth of 9% (Source: Tourism Forecasting Committee, 2012); and
-An annual visitor spend of $211.6 million (from an average spend of $1,954 per party per trip) 11% growth from 2009, while average spend industry-wide grew only 1% (Source: ibid) .
Nola Daniel, General Manager of WorldMark Resort Ballarat says the data shows the value of the sector and its contribution to the overall tourism industry.
“For a tourism sector that flies under the radar, these are incredible growth statistics,” says Daniel. “We will keep performing and growing as more Australians realise the benefits of timeshare ownership.”
Daniel singled out the sector’s occupancy rate of 90.4% as a key driver of flow-on tourism spend.
“Each bed night timeshare generates equates to visitor spend on transport, meals, retail and attractions,” says Daniel.
Each WorldMark owner owns a certain period of time that allows them to occupy their choice of units from among a network of timeshare resorts.
Reflecting the robust growth of the WorldMark South Pacific Club, Australia’s largest timeshare Club, WorldMark Ballarat’s visitor nights have been increasing year-on-year from 2,702 in 2012, rising to 2,970 in 2013 and reaching 3,079 in 2014.
The WorldMark Resort Ballarat also achieved the highest customer satisfaction ranking for 2014 within the entire WorldMark South Pacific Club portfolio of 26 South Pacific resorts.
Australia’s timeshare industry comprises 2,683 units across 91 resorts, mostly in Queensland, Victoria and NSW.