Leisure Activities People example essay topic

Development of the Leisure and Recreation Industry Since the 1960's there has been a rapid development in this industry and this is due to a number of reasons. All industries change over a period of time, but the leisure industry is probably changing faster than any other. There are many factors that influence the development of the industry but these are the most significant. Increase in Leisure Time In 1961 the average amount of time an individual spent working in a week would be 45 hours. This meant that the individual would not have much time available for leisure as well as doing the essentials that they must do like cooking and cleaning. But over the last 25 years there has been a decrease in the basic working hours meaning today the average amount of time an individual spends working is 40 hours per week, which means an extra 5 hours to participate in leisure activities and chores.

Chores are much simpler as increased automation in the home with 'labour-saving' devices such as dishwashers and washing machines also make is possible for extra leisure time. Also the amount of holiday entitlement has increased by up to 3 weeks since 1961. In 1961, 97% of full time manual workers were entitled to 2 weeks holiday per year. In 1971 this increased to 3 weeks on average for 2/3 of these people. Since 1981 the majority of manual workers are entitled to 4 or 5 weeks of paid holiday a year. This means that people spend a lot more time participating in leisure activities nowadays than they did in 1960.

Increase in Disposable Income Disposable income is the amount of money leftover after paying out for necessities such as bills, mortgages and tax. This determines what and how much leisure activities people can participate in. e.g. People who play golf would essentially need more disposable income than those who play football, as golf is the more expensive activity out of the two. A major influence on the amount of disposable income each individual would receive would be the economy e.g. if in a recession, they would receive less and in a boom period they would receive more. The other influences would be things like inflation, interest rates, competition and credit availability.

Mobility The increase in people owning cars or other vehicles has meant that more people have access to a wider range of leisure activities and opportunities. The general pattern suggests that the amount of people owning cars will continue to increase and as 40% of leisure time is spent travelling to desired locations this plays a large part in the leisure industry. In 1960 a popular destination for leisure would be the seaside but with modern technology we can travel abroad for leisure and holidays or to places in the country that would be unreachable without transport. This is also due to the use of maps and road networks, the advances in rail technology and also the option to travel by aeroplane, bus, boat, barge and many other forms of transport. Demographic Changes These are the changes in the structure of the population. Our population is known as an, 'ageing population'.

This means that there are more people over 60 than there are under 20 years of age which is a dramatic change since 1960. This means that leisure organisations would benefit greatly by providing for older people and accommodating for their needs. A firm that and only exists because they realised there was a lack of facilities and activities available for the over 50's is called Saga who now provide holidays etc for this age group. Changing Fashions and Trends Some of the major influences on how we choose to spend our leisure time are: -.

Business The industry has become controlled by large national and multinational corporations. They have a big influence on how we spend our disposable income and what we do. Since 1960 small independent businesses provided most of our leisure activities but they have been taken over by major organisations that continue to expand rapidly... Media and communication Since 1960 this area has been transformed due to the development of new technology.

There is a large amount of coverage in the form of advertising, programming, newspaper and magazine articles and information sheets about certain activities within the industry... Marketing Advances in technology allow marketing to be sophisticated in analysing customer behaviour and modifying or creating new products to suit the current trends. Businesses are able to keep databases of information about consumers and can provide forecasts for future trends... Consumerism Since 1960 the main emphasis has been change, consumption and innovation. Change is seen as fashionable so this means people want to try new things and ignore those that were once popular.

People used to perform the same routine, go to the same places and do the same things but now people are willing to spend money on new products and services which would be seen as out of date in the near future... Politics Political action can affect the leisure industry. They can do this through legislation, by extending licensing hours to sell alcohol etc, broadcasting regulations and censorship. Businesses have to follow these rules and this may limit activities. They can also do this through policy, e.g. in 1970 the policy the government put forward was 'Sport for all' but now this has changed to increased interest in elitism and excellence.

These are not relevant all of the time as there is still the factor of short-term fashions e.g. tennis would be popular in the weeks that Wimbledon tennis is taking place. Technological Developments Since 1960 there have been rapid advances in new technologies and these influence the extent to which people participate in leisure and the type of activities they take part in. Some of the most obvious being: -. TV Since 1960, advances in technology have meant that now all TV's are in colour rather than black and white, which is more appealing to most people.

They have also introduced packages such as Sky and digital TV allowing people to be interactive and have access to more channels, e.g. channels dedicated to Music or Film etc... Computers Since the computer has decreased in size from a big machine to a personal computer, laptops and palm tops, it has turned into an essential for most people. The Internet is now a fast and efficient resource that can be used for communicating, working from home, shopping from home and many other activities... Music Since 1960 it seems that music quality and availability has increased.

The format in which you purchase music has changed from Vinyl to cassettes to CD's to mini disk and finally MP 3. It is also possible to download music directly from the Internet to your computer and put it on MP 3 or even CD. Some leisure organisations benefit from these advances and new inventions but others suffer e.g. the invention of computer games and consoles like the Sony Playstation encourages home based leisure, therefore non-home based leisure organisations suffer. Out of all of the factors I believe that the most influential ones would be advances in technology, increase in leisure time and increase in disposable income.

This is because all of the factors are interdependent and could not exist without these initial factors. All of them rely heavily upon the advances in technology. There can only be an increase in leisure time as 'labour-saving' devices save time and allow for other activities to be performed. Without technology there would be less mobility and therefore less access to leisure activities.

Technology is also the cause for the 'ageing population,' advances in technology allow people to have better health opportunities, therefore they live longer. These are a few examples of how they each relate to each other and one would not be possible without another.