Investigate the UK leisure and recreation industry, from 1960s to 2003 and the future.

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Assessment 1, 2, 3

Introduction

In this assignment I will investigate the UK leisure and recreation industry, from 1960s to 2003 and the future, there are two parts to my investigation:-

Part 1:  investigating into industry;

  • Development of the industry
  • Scale of the industry and its economic and social significance
  • Structure of industry
  • Summary of the sectors of the industry

Part 2:  Summary of employment opportunities;

  • Summary of the range of employment opportunities available
  • A CV appropriate for seeking a job in the industry

Leisure is essentially freedom provided by the start of activities; it is time free from work or duties. The leisure and recreation industry depends massively on essential and life sustaining activities; these include household bills, personal hygiene, etc…

Time is also very important in the industry as leisure activities take place in our spare time which means after work or other duties. Disposable income is money which is left over after paying essential things.

Leisure activities are not prioritised, which means if income is low, leisure and recreation isn’t bought/used. Leisure can be defined as either:

  • Active leisure
  • Passive leisure

Active leisure

Active leisure is when you physically take part in an activity (E.g.) playing a game of soccer.

Passive leisure

Passive leisure is where you take part in a non-physical activity (E.g.) Reading a book.

Recreation involves an activity that we find relaxing and enjoyable, it makes us

Feel better inside. Leisure and recreation are very similar in meaning that’s why they are interlinked.

Assessment 4

There are key factors in the leisure and recreation industry that have promoted the rapid development. I will explain the following key factors:

Increase in leisure time available

The usual view of leisure is something that people do at the weekend, after work and in years of retirement. This view is true for a proportion of the population who are in full-time employment and full-time retirement thereafter. Nevertheless, it is not relevant to an increasing proportion of the UK population. E.g. For those who take an early retirement. This means, that group will have more free leisure time than for those in full-time employment.

There are three broad categories in which we spend our time;

  • Essential activities, including sleep, personal care and hygiene, eating, household and family care.
  • Work, including travel time to, from and for work.
  • Free time or Leisure time, which is time which is not spent on the other two categories.

The table below show the amount of time we spend on leisure, work and essential activities. In 1996, the UK population spent 30.6% of its year, and half of its waking hours, in leisure. The data also indicates that the leisure time increased marginally between 1971 and 1996.

Figure 1 - The uses of time in the UK

Increased disposable income

Since the 1960s, the leisure and recreation industry had a major rise in riches in the UK and other western countries. As the standards of living in the UK have risen, free time has been used in a more ‘money concentrated’ way than in the past. E.g., more people have ‘free time’ and spending loads of money on eating out, trips, holidays and sports.

The amount of money people have left over after they have paid essential items such as food, household bills, rent or mortgage. This amount left over is spent on leisure activities, which are referred to as personal disposable income or household income.

Overall, the disposable income in the UK has risen, which led to an increase in people taking part in leisure activities. The table below shows that between 1971 and 1996, on average leisure time per person had increased by 89%.

Figure 2 - Time and money for leisure 1971-96

Also, the average UK household spends £51.60 per week on leisure goods and services out of a total average expense of £313.70. This represents 16% of their weekly budget. See graphs below. This means that this proportion is second coming after food (18%), so leisure goods and services are very popular.

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Figure 3 - UK household expenditure (one week) by commodity and service, 1995-8

Improved mobility

Most people in UK have access to transport, which means leisure and recreation facilities, products, services and events are easier to access. The UK has benefited from improved mobility due to advances in transport technology. The level of car ownership is a very important in the leisure and recreation industry, as they rely on them being able to attend their facility, event and services.

The graph below shows that over the years the percentage of households owning a car has ...

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