Leisure and Tourism Industry

Leisure and Tourism Industry

1-What is leisure? One dictionary definition states that leisure is ‘time free from the demands of work or duty when you can rest or enjoy hobbies or sports’. Leisure time is the time you have left after work, school, sleep, and household jobs, such as cooking, washing and cleaning.

2-The leisure industry is divided into five key component:-

3-Sport and physical recreation

4-Sport is a form of physical activity that usually has some element of competition and is usually governed by a set of rules. Physical recreation is participating in any physical activity that refreshes the body and mind.

5- Some sports can be a physical recreation when the competition is not present, such as cycling, horse riding and sailing. Both sport and physical recreation may be aimed at improving health and fitnes.

Sport can be:

•Active or participative, e.g. playing rugby or badminton

•Passive or spectator, e.g. watching a football match.

6-Some sports you can play/do on your own or with a partner, such as gymnastics or golf; others you play as part of a team, such as cricket or hockey.

7-Sport and physical recreation can take place indoors, outdoors, on land or on water. However the boundaries can often be blurred, for instance, athletics can be both indoor and outdoor, and some individual recreations can also be played as a team sport, such as playing in a tennis team in the Davis Cup, or sprinting as part of a relay team in athletics.

8-Arts and entertainment

9-Arts and entertainment refers to things that take place outside your home which ‘entertain you’.

10- Again this can include things that you watch, e.g. a musical at a theatre, or things that you can actively take part in, e.g. bingo, youth theatre, dance troops, orchestras, bands, choirs, karaoke, and reading groups.

11-Included in this component of the leisure industry, you will find:

•Theatre – including musicals and plays

•Opera

•Classical music, orchestral and individual recitals – including fireworks

concerts

•Popular music – including bands, individuals, compilation tours,

e.g. The X Factor Live

•Dance – including ballet, folk and morris dancing

•Cinema – including IMAX

• Cabaret – including tribute bands

•Stand-up comedy

•Art galleries

•Exhibitions.

.Others – include festivals, magic shows, ice shows, children’s show

12-Countryside recreation

13-Countryside recreation can take place in National Parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), on the coastline, or on the moors.

14-A place is visited not just for its landscape and scenery, which may be mountains, hills, valleys, lakes, sand dunes or even just fields, but also for the many activities that can take place there, such as walking, canoeing, potholing, or skiing.

15-Countryside recreation is ‘recreation that uses or is linked in some way to the landscape of the countryside Some charities, like the Ramblers Association, work to promote walking in the countryside and to improve conditions for all walkers.

16-Walking is generally a free activity. Other free activities in the countryside include photography, landscape painting, picnicking, and cycling.

17-These tend to be ‘low’ level activities, suitable for all age groups. However, the

countryside increasingly offers highly active recreational activities, such as caving, skiing, snowboarding, climbing, mountain biking, and on the coast, a variety of water sports such as windsurfing and sailing.

18-Home-based leisure

19-It is not always necessary to leave your home to take part in leisure activities.

20-Home-based leisure includes:

•Music – including playing and listening

• Television related entertainment

• Crafts

• Home improvements and gardening

• Internet-based leisure

•Reading

• Games – including interactive game.

23-Play- and activity-based leisure

24-Play-based leisure is activities that are mainly associated with children.

25-Examples range from ‘paint a plate’ to bouncy castles for children. 

26-Activity-based leisure is a fast-growing component of the leisure industry.

27-Many new activities have been introduced as people are not content to just sunbathe when on holiday or just walk when visiting the countryside.

28-Examples of activity-based leisure include whitewater rafting and aerial adventures like forest adventure courses that involve rope bridges and zip slides for older children, teenagers and adults.

29-Remember that play- and activity-based leisure activities are available in towns, cities and seaside resorts, as well as in the countryside.

30-Many types of leisure in this component are free, such as mother and toddler playgroups, local park playgrounds for younger children, beach activities such as paddling, swimming, or body boarding for older children, and tea dances or power-walking for older people...