ABSTRACT

Leisure, recreation and tourism What exactly is meant by the terms leisure, recreation and tourism and how are they related? Leisure is often seen as a measure of time and usually means the time left over after work, sleep and personal and household chores have been completed (Figure 1.1). In other words, leisure time is free time for individuals to spend as they please. This does, however, introduce the problem of whether all free time is leisure. A good example of this dilemma is whether the unemployed feel that their free time is in fact ‘enforced’ leisure, or whether volunteers at a sporting event see their activity as ‘serious leisure’. This has led to the view that leisure is as much an attitude of mind as a measure of time, and that an element of ‘choice’ has to be involved. Of course, these relationships have changed over time – the Industrial Revolution, for example, brought about a sharp contrast between the workplace and the leisure environment, whereas in pre-industrial societies the pace of life is attuned less to ‘clock time’ and more to the rhythm of the seasons.