An OBJECT IVE is a measurable target that is set to help to reach a target. Objectives are usually set at various stages so that the progress can be measured. An objective needs to be a quantity of some sort that can be evaluated at the end of each set period of time. The most common way to remember how to set objectives is to use the mnemonic ‘smart’ all objectives should be
Specific- to the task set
Measurable- by quantities of some sort
Achievable- within the scope of the team
Realistic-appropriate for the organisation
Timed- set too a given time
This type of evaluation is being carried out by non-commercial as well as commercial organisations. Both types of organisations produce plans, and are both judged on performance.
FUNDING is the capital need to build or create something. Commercial companies have the broadest range of funding sources as they can,
- Plough back some of their profits
- Offer shares on the stock market
- Approach bank for a loan
- Fined investors who have capital of their own who might invest in the company
One source that commercial company’s can not apply to is the national lottery. For non-commercial organisations like local authorities, the process of fund raising is much more difficult. Although they receive government funding this has to be spent on all services not solely leisure. If one of their facilities is making profit some of this may then have to be plunged into capital development. Another strategy would be to raise council tax for local residence, but this would not be a popular move with the residence.
REVENUE STREAMS are vital to the sustainability or viability of a new facility. Revenue is needed to pay for staff wages and maintenance of the premises. Revenue streams are created from fees, entry charges, ticket sales, sales of goods, service on the premises such as kit, souvenirs and food. In order to overcome the problem of not being able to function like a company, some local authorities set up what is called a trust which can operate autonomously from the council benefits and leisure facility users. This allows local authorities to make and recycle profits and also has certain tax advantages.
A SHAREHOLDER or STOCKHOLDER is an individual or company (including a corporation) that legally owns one or more shares of stock in a joint stock company. A company's shareholders collectively own that company. Thus, such companies strive to enhance shareholder value. Stockholders are granted special privileges depending on the class of stock, including the right to vote (usually one vote per share owned, but sometimes this is not the case) on matters such as elections to the board of directors, the right to propose shareholder resolutions, the right to share in distributions of the company's income, the right to purchase new shares issued by the company, and the right to a company's assets during a liquidation of the company. However, stockholder's rights to a company's assets are subordinate to the rights of the company's creditors. This means that stockholders typically receive nothing if a company is liquidated after bankruptcy (if the company had had enough to pay its creditors, it would not have entered bankruptcy), although a stock may have value after a bankruptcy if there is the possibility that the debts of the company will be restructured.
COMPONENTS OF THE UK LEISURE AND RECREATION INDUSTRY
The UK leisure and recreation industry is extremely diverse and offers a vast range of facilities and services.
ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT is one of the components of the leisure and recreation industry. This area also covers a broad range of activates such as
- Pubs
- Social clubs
- Museums
- Art galleries
When thinking of arts and entertainment, it is useful to distinguish between those activities which occur in the home and those which take place in public.
Bellow there is a table showing the sectors under which the facilities may come under.
Millions of people visit Museums and art galleries every year for a variety of recreational educational and cultural reasons. Museums are run by organisations in the public, private, and voluntary sector.
Public houses and social clubs are important part of British life. The local pub or social club is a central feature of many communities and provides valued leisure and recreational opportities for customers. A wide variety of social clubs and associations has evolved to cater for the needs of all types of people including working men clubs and instates, ex armed forces association and political clubs.
Theme and Leisure parks. The phrase theme parks describe an action packed family centred leisure park and entertainment complex. Parks often include high-technology version of traditional funfair and rollercoaster as well as amusement arcades, adventure playgrounds, computer simulations and laser games. They often have a variety of sports facilities, heritage activates, zoos and wild life areas.
SPORTS AND PHYSICAL RECREATION
Like arts and entertainment the sports and physical recreation component of the leisure and reaction of the leisure industry covers a very broad range of facility, events, products, services and activities in this section
Participating in a sport and physical recreation activates.
There is an enormous range of sport and physical recreation activates to individuals and groups. Growing interest in healthy lifestyles and the link with fitness and exercise have been major influences on sport participation since the 1980’s. Among the many facilities used for sport and physical activities sports centres, leisure centres, ice rinks, squash courts and fitness centres. there are also specially constructed outdoor facilities such as athletic tracks, golf courses, natural and artificial playing pitches and sports stadium. Natural resources such as rivers, lakes, reservoirs, beaches, hills, mountains and caves can provide suitable sites for a range of physical activities.
Local sports clubs and associations. There has been an estimated 150,000 voluntary sports clubs in Britain affiliated to the 400 or so national bodies of sport. If you look in the sport section of any newspaper or yellow pages then there will be many examples of these sport clubs. sometimes a sport community forms a ‘sport association’ that provides a range of activates, for example a typical village sports association might provide facilities for football, cricket, hockey, tennis, and bowls. Many will also provide facilities such as a bar, function rooms and meeting rooms. As many of these organisations operate no a ‘not-for-profit’ bases then they are classified under the voluntary sector organisations.
Sport retail. The popularity of sporting and physical recreational activities has created a huge customer demand for a wide range of sports clothing and equipment. In 1998 customers spent a estimated £3,500 million on sportswear and equipment. Manufactures such as Nike Adidas Puma and Reebok have all become house hold names. Chains of sport retailers such as JJB sport and sports division with 449 outlets between them in 1999 have emerged along many independent sports shops to ensure that sport retail outlets are commonplace in the high street. Sport manufacturers and retailers are all private sector organisations as they aim to make a profit.
HERATAGE SITES AND ATTRACTIONS.
Heritage attractions range from century old historical sites such as stone Henge and Scara Brae to the latest technology enhanced attractions such as the Earth Gallery Experience at the National History Museum in London. The cultural significance of what is deemed to be ‘heritage’ is far reaching and consists of
- Historical buildings e.g. Windsor Castle
- Historic cities and towns e.g. Bath, York
- Places of historic literary and cultural associations e.g. Elgar and Malvern, Dickens and Rochester
- Cultural collections e.g. Royal Armouries
- Historical landscapes e.g. historic parks and gardens
- Industrial heritages e.g. Iron Bridge
- Local traditions and cultures e.g. Morris Dancing
Many historic buildings and sites are owned and run by religious organizations including Westminster Abbey, York Minister both of which attract more than 2 million visitors each year. Local authorities, the national trust and English heritage are also involved in preserving and maintaining historic buildings for the public to visit. Approximately a third of the historic properties open to the public are owned and managed by the private or voluntary sector.
CATERING
Hospitality catering and accommodation is an industry in its own right but one which is closely linked to leisure and recreation industry. Many leisure and recreation facilities include some form of catering for example
- Sport centres – bars, cafes, meeting rooms
- Cinemas – bars, snacks, confectionery shops
- Theme parks – restaurants, bars, accommodation
- Swimming pools – vending machines, cafes
- Sports stadia – conference and reception facilities, restaurants
- Social clubs – bars, restaurants, reception facilities
The enormous number of catering facilities within the UK provides a wide range of food and beverage products and services. A list of catering establishments serving food and drinks is seemingly endless. Both restaurants and take-away markets have continued to grow in the UK. This growth is partly due to the increase popularity of ethnic restaurants and takeaways in the UK.
COUNTRYSIDE RECREATION
The term countryside recreation cover a broad range of leisure and recreational activities which can be classified as land-based (e.g. walking and potholing ) Water-based (e.g. sailing and water-skiing) or air-based (e.g. hand-gliding and hot-air ballooning). Obviously many leisure activities in the country side are sports or require particular effort but there are many other activities which need not be for example those associated with parks and gardens. All sectors of the industry are represented within this component, for example in national park areas the following organisations will be involved in managing and providing leisure facilities and services
- Public sector: park authority, local authority, countryside agency, forestry commission.
- Private sector: accommodation and catering providers, shops, pubs, farmers and attractions
- Voluntary sector: recreation and conservation groups such as the ramblers association and the national trust.
HOME BASED LEISURE
The term home-based leisure covers a wide range of activates. LIRC indentifies the following main types of home-based markets, based on the volume of UK consumer spending.
- Video
- Pets
- Magazines
- Books
- Toys and games
- DIY
- Pc’s
- Photography
- Cd’s, records, and tapes
- Gardening
- Audio equipment
- Television
The market for in home interactive media hardware and services includes computer hardware. Computer software and non-terrestrial broadcasting, as well as the internet. In-home interactive media is a sector with enormous potential, although with options for technology advancing all the time and little research its exact levels is not easy to determine. What is clear however is that interactivity offers a revolutionary challenge to the way in which such things as leisure, shopping, banking, and communications are conducted.
HEALTH AND FITNESS IN EUROPE
the leisure industry within Europe is extremely wide and has developed along similar lines as the uk. However there has been less emphasis on public sectors and much more on the development of the privet sector.
Having investigated the European leisure industry it is possible to identifying the following trends. Since 1999 there have been several surveys conducted and it has been found that the largest investments have been planned for sport, entertainment, food and beverages. Many companies were optimistic about the industry because of increased leisure time and higher disposable incomes to be found in countries such as Portugal, The Netherlands, Norway, Germany, Ireland, Spain, and Denmark.
The PORTUGAL fitness industry has around 1,100 fitness facilities including gymnasiums, academies, clubs, and commercial health clubs. Of these, it is estimated that around 700 are health clubs, some of which are in hotels. According to the consumer 2004 report 1.3 million people use fitness facilities, 5000,000 of which are members of health clubs, paying monthly average of $48 (£32). The Portugese fitness industry is expecting strong growth, as its penetration rate is a low 4.8%. However a good deal of PR is required to convince the Portuguese to take up fitness. The euro barometer survey 2004 researched how often people took exercise across Europe. Portugal had the highest percent of respondents who answered ‘never’, which represents a significant 66% of the total population.
The NETHERLANDS. The Dutch health and fitness market has a penetration rate of 9.2% according to IHRSA’s European report. But the sport and leisure grope (SLG) suggests a more modest rate of around 6-7% in 2005. IHRSA also reports that 1.5million people use 1500 clubs. But again, SLG puts the figure lower at 950,000 members. The Dutch fitness market has been valued at €825million (£555m) and is in a state of flux. On one hand we see the emergence of the large, multi-activity leisure centres, and on the other, specialised centres are developing. The clubs that position themselves between the two wont survive. The industry continues to be more professional in all aspects, particularly in marketing sales, education and certification. The government continues to support the fitness industry through campaigns to increase the awareness of being fit. International club chains are entering the market, with the Curves concept predicted to grow from 20 to 200 clubs. The German chain, Mcfit, is also planning to open clubs in the market.
NORWAY doesn’t have many cities, but has lots of villages with populations of 15,000 to 20,000. Health and fitness is probably the most mature market, thanks to the SATS group (a fitness chain) setting the standards for club design, pricing and selling member-ship, offering updated programmes, and educating a professional team of staff. Norwegians exercise a lot. According to SATS, 20% of residents in the capital of Oslo belong to a health and fitness club. Trondheim has a population of 150,000, 21 percent of which belongs to a health club. Today, there are around 600 facilities, 400 of which are fitness clubs. On average, clubs have 660 members and member-ship is €48 (£32) a month. Norwegian clubs earning profits achieve between four and seven percent EBITA.
GERMANY. There are around 5,600 health and fitness clubs serving the German market, most of which are privately owned independent clubs. Of these, around 12% are chains or franchise operations which between them, have a 25% share of total number of health clubs members accounting for some 5.5% of the population. Independent clubs have struggled particularly those without a clear positioning. There have been new openings especially in the budget sector, where membership can cost $22 (£15) per month or less. Some clubs offer weekly fees. Curve-types clubs are increasing, as are small clubs with holistic offerings. There is widespread awareness of public health issues and the opportunities they present for the fitness industry. Recent research shows that 70% of operators wish to reposition themselves with medical and health offerings. The number of sites has slightly declined since last year but membership numbers are increasing.
IRELAND. There are just over 600 dedicated sports and fitness facilities in the republic of Ireland. The biggest growth over the past 5-7 years has been in hotel leisure clubs, were the numbers have almost doubled to more than 250 clubs, most of which operate a membership for the local area. We’ve also seen disappearance or takeover, of smaller gyms, and the development of very large, multi-faceted clubs, which again represent around 250 facilities. The local authority market also remains fairly static with around 100 facilities, but this doesn’t reflect the fact that many older facilities have been modernised and refurbished to offer a wider range of services including pools, gyms and outdoor facilities. Pricing is a key issue, particularly in Limerick, Dublin and Cork where there appears to be near saturation of the market in certain areas. But there’s no sign of any decline in the number of facilities being planned or developed. As there’s no specific legislation governing leisure, fitness and sports facilities in Ireland, the White Flag Award for Leisure Facilities has been supported by all of the main statutory and non-governmental agencies, as the only measure of a quality facility in Ireland.
SPAIN. It has been a very interesting year in the Spanish market. After several years of foreign investment, Spanish investors – private equity, private investors and companies looking to diversify from other industries – took the lead in 2005. The past 12 months has seen the sale of Esporta clubs to Virgin Active and the purchased by Mercapital of Holmes Place Iberia (Spanish and Portuguese sites), while LA Fitness and Fitness First have placed their projects on hold. Local companies have launched development plans with Metropolitan, Sidecu, Activia Club, Duet Sports, Arsenal, DiR and Body Factory launching or resuming their projects. The city of Barcelona has the highest ratio of fitness club members in Spain, with an impressive 24 percent of the market and DiR leads with 5.5 percent market share.
DENMARK. The Danish perceive their health to be good, but statistics show that Denmark is the unhealthiest of all of the Nordic countries, based on eating habits and levels of smoking. Denmark’s quickly catching up with Sweden and Norway becoming a more mature fitness market, but the industry still needs to raise prices and get members on longer contracts. The market has 450 fitness facilities, and 380,000 people – seven percent of the population – are members. In the top 100 health clubs, the average membership fee for a minimum of 12 months is €40 (£27) per month or €480 (£324) per year. Profit margins are low, if any, showing averages of four to seven percent EBITA, annual attrition is around 40-45 percent.
