Recently, RCI (Resort Condominiums International) commissioned a study on how much money is spent in Great Britain on travel. More specifically, the study was on money spent in vacationing, tourism, and in the timeshare industries.

The results of the study show that the average British vacationer spends the equivalent of $63,000 US dollars throughout their lifetime, averaging $1,053 a year.  If a British person takes two 1 week vacations a year, as was the average in 2007, they spend approximately 840 days throughout their lives on vacation. Clearly tourism is no small-time market, at least in the UK. So how do timeshares effect the typical British vacationer?

RCI projects that if any given British vacationer would use timeshares and timeshare exchange programs on their vacations, they would have spend only $36,500 instead of $63,000.  And this method would not restrict vacationing destinations.  After all, there are timeshare resorts available worldwide.

But the savings can go even further.  If the same vacationer purchased resale timeshares, they would save around 50% more than if they paid for a new timeshare.  This throws the estimate savings to $50,000-$70,000.

It doesn't matter if you live in the US, UK, or anywhere else in the world. Clearly timeshare resales save money.  Still, after reading this article, maybe you've started looking at how much money you spend on vacation.  Maybe you aren't using your timeshare as much as you thought you would.  Maybe traveling is more stressful than you realized, or your kids are grown, or you're trying to simplify your life and vacations aren't your way of doing it. You can  donate your timeshare so that the proceeds go to your favorite charity.  Online programs like iDonate.com ensure that your timeshare is liquidated for the best possible price and the proceeds go to your cause of choice. If you've been looking for a way to sacrifice something for a non-profit, but haven't quite scrounged up the cash to do it, this could be a more creative way of donating.