LETTER FROM PRINCIPAL ADVISOR

February 2015

At seminars and other industry events, people have asked me about the studies conducted by AIRDA – especially in terms of the methodology, structure and process involved.

It may be useful here to discuss an example of an earlier study done by us on the “Assessment of Economic Impact of the Vacation Ownership Industry”. The building blocks of this study consisted of two key components – primary research and secondary research. Primary research was both qualitative and quantitative in nature, and the research tools used were questionnaires, discussion guides and data sheets.

The data here was mainly collected from the following target groups.

• Timeshare resort customers
• Timeshare resort managers
• Homestay customers
• Homestay owners
• Other high-class resort customers
• Leisure hotel customers
• Leisure hotel managers
  

From resort customers, detailed information was collected on their spending patterns under each of the following broad heads, during their vacation or stay at the resort.

• What they spent on food and related items
• What they spent on conveyance during their vacation
• Entry fee and related costs at sight-seeing destinations
• What they paid tourist guides for conducted tours
• Souvenirs, takeaways and tourist interest shopping
• Room tariffs / cost of stay at a hotel, resort, homestay, etc.

For timeshare customers where there is no room rent, we have assigned a notional cost-of-stay value to the upfront payment made. This value has been adjusted for real prices and can be linked to accrued income from total revenues.

From resorts, hotels and home stay entities, information was collected on annual spends under the following heads.

• Salaries to local employee pool
• Purchase of provisions, etc.
• Purchase of other items such as stationery
• Purchase of CAPEX items such as electronic equipment, building materials, furniture, furnishings, vehicles, etc.
• Expenditure on maintenance and running of the resort – including repairs, utilities, etc.
• Taxes paid during a calendar year

The secondary research done by us provided data to validate the figures derived from primary research, and served as a base to extrapolate our findings. Secondary research was also used to provide an understanding of the industry as a whole.

An important component of primary research effort included interviews with industry experts to validate information and findings. The interviews were also used to obtain industry insights and study the impact of timeshare on local economies.

Limited copies of our study – an “Assessment of Economic Impact of the Vacation Ownership Industry” are still available from the AIRDA office. Do write in to info@airda.org for more information on this and other studies done by us.

B. S. Rathor
Principal Advisor & Member - Executive Committee