40 Years of Timeshare in Aruba II

In honor of celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Timeshare Industry in Aruba, a report was commissioned by the Aruba Timeshare Association, ATSA, to provide an overview of the island’s timeshare landscape from data collected in 2017. The report was commissioned in collaboration with Aruba Tourism Authority, ATA, and prepared by the University of Aruba, UA.

The following is the second article in a series of six, summarizing the study.

As the recognized voice of vacation ownership in Aruba, ATSA wanted to achieve five primary research objectives, by the survey:

1) Identify the motivations and marketing factors for timeshare purchases on Aruba;

2) Determine the timeshare usage and economic expenditure of timeshare owners;

3) Determine the potential direct and indirect economic impact of the timeshare industry for 2017 on Aruba;

4) Explore the timeshare owner perceptions of quality and satisfaction with the timeshare

industry in Aruba;

5) Explore the demographic variables of owners to determine if there are significant differences in perceptions of the Aruba timeshare product.

The survey for the current data collection was developed by using a previous survey done in 2008 led by Dr. Ryan Peterson. The survey instrument was adapted from that original survey. 

METHODOLOGY

During the months of July and August 2017, A.T.A. set up the survey which was sent to U.S. residents that were registered as Aruba timeshare owners. Approximately 3,410 surveys were completed and used as part of the data analysis. If the surveys were not 100% completed, the items that were not responded to were not used in assessing the results for that item.

The online survey was used to ensure that there was a large, representative group of timeshare owners rather than what could only be collected in face-to-face data collection with timeshare owners currently on island.

Students from the University of Aruba did a similar survey with timeshare owners that were on island during September and October 2017. The surveys were done in person on Aruba and had a more widespread base of the origins of timeshare owners. The response number was 358 out of 399 requested to participate for a response rate of 89.72%.

THE SURVEY

The survey questionnaire had four sections: timeshare acquisition and purchase, timeshare usage and destination expenditures, timeshare quality and satisfaction, and demographics.

The first section about timeshare acquisition and purchase asked timeshare owners about how and when they acquired their timeshare in Aruba. It also asked about what the owners paid for their timeshare and what their motives were for purchasing the timeshare. The survey also asked about how important a variety of sales and marketing factors were in their final decision to purchase a timeshare in Aruba.

The second section of the survey was designed to capture timeshare usage and destination expenditures. The survey did this by asking such questions as what type of usage plan people have, how many people were in their party, and the amount of money that their party had spent during their time on Aruba, including maintenance fees paid, and other fees paid. The survey also asked specifically about the amount of money spent on things such as food and beverage, shopping and other activities that added economic value to the island.

The third section assessed timeshare quality and satisfaction and looked at total quality of the timeshare and destination aspects, the atmosphere of Aruba, and the distinctive characteristics of Aruba in the perception of the timeshare owners. It also asked about the satisfaction and behavioral intentions, such as repurchase intentions and positive word of mouth intentions related to Aruba and timeshare on Aruba.

The last section of the survey assessed basic demographics including the number of times that the timeshare owner had been to Aruba, current country of origin, gender and age, and average household income. Overall, the survey was a thorough compilation of questions to timeshare owners in order to help identify who they are, what they enjoy about their timeshare experiences on Aruba, and how that may be reflected in their spent on Aruba and their behavioral intentions related to timeshare on Aruba.

Source: arubatsa.com

Data from the respondents was collected via ATA’s online survey tool, the data set was cleaned up and any incomplete responses and outliers were identified and removed from analysis. There were a total of 3,410 useable surveys collected from timeshare owners done by the Aruba Tourism Authority (A.T.A.).

 

 

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June 30, 2018
Rona Coster