Taking place October 26-27 at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in downtown Atlanta, the conference will feature the release of recent industry research, news of timeshare development in the region and an overview of critical sales, marketing, legal and financial aspects of the timeshare industry in general.

According to the 1998 Worldwide Resort Timeshare Industry, a report sponsored by the American Resort Development Association (ARDA), the resort industry trade organization, the Southeast had 288 timeshare projects in 1997, representing 17.9 percent of the 1,608
resorts in the United States. (The Southeast region is defined as Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.)

�The industry penetration level remains relatively low for the Southeast market, both high-end and mid-tier. There is still tremendous opportunity to draw buyers from the hundreds of thousands of consumers who travel to the region each year,� says Craig M. Nash, chairman and chief executive officer of Interval International.

The southern states ranked as one of the top regions of the country for a possible timeshare purchase, cited by 38 percent of respondents to Vacation Ownership 2000 (VO2000), a benchmark study conducted by Yesawich, Pepperdine  Brown (YPB) and sponsored by Interval International, a leading global vacation exchange company.

VO2000 assessed the travel habits, preferences, and intentions of consumers with a stated interest in vacation ownership.

Established and New Markets

Vacation ownership continues to flourish in the Southeast, with new development in markets where it has enjoyed great success, such as Myrtle Beach and Hilton Head Island in South Carolina. The Carolinas were cited by 39 percent of VO2000 respondents as their top specific destination of interest when considering a timeshare purchase.

Although South Carolina has the largest share of timeshare resorts in the Southeast, new timeshare projects are planned or underway in travel destinations throughout the region. A resurgence of development through resort expansions has occurred in other established timeshare markets, such as Williamsburg, Virginia, and Gatlinburg, Tennessee. The industry is also making its debut in new markets, such as Charleston, South Carolina, and Biloxi, Mississippi.

Timeshare resorts and their amenities also are becoming destinations unto themselves in areas not considered traditional tourist draws. Perhaps one of the most important factors influencing
the growth of timeshare in the Southeast is the �drive-to� factor. The region is home to more than one of every five U.S. timeshare owners (21.4 percent), and the vast majority of these people also own their timeshares in the Southeast.

�Many vibrant markets in the Southeast, such as Mississippi, remain underdeveloped by the timeshare industry,� notes David C. Gilbert, Interval�s senior vice president of Resort Sales and Service.

�With a variety of travel destinations and attractions, including beaches, casinos, mountains, lake resorts, championship golf resorts, and urban destinations such as Atlanta and Savannah, the lack of timeshare development there to date is surprising relative to the significant opportunities.�

Product and Destination Innovations

An overwhelming majority (58 percent) of consumers responding to VO2000 was interested in owning a timeshare at a beach resort. Next in order of preference were mountain resorts, lakefront resorts, resorts near a well-known amusement park, resorts in cities or popular metropolitan areas, and ski resorts.

Developers are increasingly capitalizing on the symbiotic relationship between timesharing and other types of development, including hotel and residential mixed-use or golf, lake and ski
resorts, as well as local attractions. Bluegreen�s The Lodge Alley Inn in Charleston�s historic district reflects another emerging trend: urban timeshare development.

�As a lender, we are interested in financing projects developed in markets with growth potential. The combination of accessibility and amenities in the Southeast makes it a destination of great interest to us,� says Scott Maxwell, vice president of FINOVA Capital Corporation.

The Southeast Regional Timeshare Investment Conference is sponsored by Baker  Hostetler, LLP, FINOVA Capital Corporation, HVS International, and Interval International.

In addition to executives from the sponsor organizations, conference speakers will include: Marriott Leisure and Marriott Vacation Club International; Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts; Carlson Vacation Ownership; Yesawich, Pepperdine  Brown; Peppertree Vacation Club; Bluegreen Resorts; Vistana, Inc.; The Mariner Group, Inc.; EPIC Resorts; Insignia/ESG Hotel Partners; CooperShore Resorts, Inc., Brent Ferrin Associates; and ARDA.

To register, call 877/700-1147. The conference registration fee is $249.