Timeshare Owners' Perceptions and Preferred Ways of Participating in Tourism Planning

Abstract

Timeshare owners are a special group of tourists who have additional connections with the tourism destination through their timeshare. The purpose of this study was to investigate timeshare owners' perceptions of participating in tourism planning and their preferred ways of participating. This study was based on a questionnaire survey of U.S. timeshare owners. A two-stage structural equation modeling approach was applied in the data analysis. Results from the measurement model suggested that the proposed model fit the data well. Results from the structural model suggested that timeshare owners' attitudes toward tourism planning and their perceived cost of participating in tourism planning significantly impacted their perceptions of participating in tourism planning. Timeshare owners preferred indirect participation methods over direct ones. In addition, Internet-based participation was the choice for many timeshare owners over traditional face-oriented or file-oriented participation modes.

Keywords:

• Timeshare owners
• decision-making
• planning
• tourism