According to a study performed by PricewaterhouseCoopers, the Tennessee timeshare industry pulled in about $1.1 billion for the state's economy in 2005. The study was done to prove how valuable the timeshare industry was to Tennessee's economy.
 
The $1.1 billion can be broken up into 11,630 job positions, $365 million in wages and income earned, as well as $119 million in tax revenue.
 
President and CEO of ARDA, the company that released the results of the study, Howard C. Nusbaum says, "Tennessee garners a vital and growing share of the timeshare industry's economic impact and boasts the highest owner referral ratings among top timeshare states. The healthy growth of the timeshare sector provides a source of economic growth and security for Tennessee's residents."
 
This is especially true when you consider that timeshare owners spend money when visiting their Tennessee timeshares. In 2005 alone, 685,000 timeshare owners along with visitors and renters, took approximately 182,000 vacations to their timeshares.
 
Each vacation comprised of an average of 3.8 individuals, staying for roughly 6.8 nights and spending an average of $1,193 per trip. This adds up to an estimated $220 million spent by timeshare vacationers.
 
Also within the 2005 time period, new timeshare buyers spent nearly $230 million to purchase their timeshares, and donated $140 million towards operations and maintenance of units and resort areas.
 
"The economic impact of the timeshare industry does not end with the initial purchase," comments Nusbaum. "|Timeshare purchases, combined with their expenditures and owner and guest spending during vacation, generate tremendous income as well as a ripple effect through other part so the Tennessee economy."
 
The research in the previously mentioned study was conducted with 56 timeshares in the United States, comprising 391 resorts, estimated 50,700 timeshare unties and roughly $5.2 billion in timeshare sales throughout the country. The sample covers approximately 29% of the timeshare facilities in the U.S. and 60 percent of the national sales. The sample of Tennessee timeshares comprised of four resorts including 2,420 units.
 
The ARDA and The AIF provide research services for the timeshare industry as well as offering educational programming. ARDA professionally represents vacation opportunity and have been since 1969. Its Washington-based association now includes more than 1,000 members from all over the nation.