A month after Bermuda's Hollywood star Michael Douglas revealed Hilton-branded fractional vacation ownership is coming to South Shore's Ariel Sands resort ? the growing trend for the up-market tourism product has been discussed by industry experts at the 10th Annual Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Investment Conference.

And Bermuda is one of the places identified in the Caribbean as being of particular interest to fractional and timeshare owners.

Fractional ownership is a step up from timeshare properties and, at its most basic level, can be described as a vehicle whereby those with sufficient money can effectively buy a second home for holidays for around a month each year.

The beauty of owning a fractional is that all the "hassles" normally associated with buying and running a second home are taking care of by an agent, a vacation club executive explained to conference delegates.

But what is in it for Bermuda or other destinations that allow the new concept to be part of their tourism product? That was one of the questions answered by a panel of guest speakers at the Fairmont Southampton Hotel as they focused on fractionals and timeshares.

The ultimate benefit is that fractional owners generate wealth for the local economy, shopping and eating locally and, having an ownership right, taking a sense of pride in the local community as well as being repeat visitors, a near capacity audience was told by a panel consisting of a lawyer, lender, hotelier and an exchange company businessman.

Hotelier Lani Kane-Hanan, senior vice-president of Marriott Vacation Club International, said: "A typical timeshare customer is looking for one-week vacation accommodation in the most sought-after resorts in the world.

"The person who is buying a fractional is basically buying a second home but does not want the hassle of a second home and wants someone else to take care of it."

A fractional owner tended to be in a higher income bracket than a timeshare owner, she said, and a fractional owner would typically take a one-twelfth interest ? about a three week right to use a fractional property ? compared to a single week taken by a timeshare owner.

The higher income bracket of the fractional owner was also reflected in the standard of service and accommodation that went along with such a property, said Ms Kane-Hanan.

As the concept has evolved, fractional owners can either take their vacation weeks at the property they have bought into, "sell back" their yearly vacation weeks to the management agency, or if there is a points system operating, they can swap their vacation time "points" to go on holiday at another fractional or timeshare resort or take matching cruise or airline benefits.

Ms Kane-Hanan said there were clear benefits from having joint hotel and fractional developments as the hotels benefited initially from being able to accommodate prospective owners during the marketing phase and afterwards would continue to enjoy patronage for their "ancillary services" from the fractional owners in the adjacent properties.

For the local economy the benefits range from having repeat visitors putting their vacation dollars into restaurants and shops, and from staff needed to service the properties having all-year round jobs, she said.

David Callaghan, vice-president of the resort sales and services for exchange company Interval International, said the Caribbean is ranked number one as the travel destination in the world. He said the fractional and timeshare market was expanding and there was "great interest" for this tourism product in the eastern Caribbean and also Bermuda.

According to Mr. Callaghan one-third of those who exchange their vacation accommodation in the Caribbean go to another part of the Caribbean to try out the difference.

He added: "It's a shame there are so many Caribbean destinations that are not in this market."