ABSTRACT
Many of the organizations or individuals that provide recreation own or have access to a land base of varying extent. Recreation planning is about assessing the demand, both actual and potential; about assessing the capacity of the land base to meet that demand in a sustainable way; and about using available resources wisely to optimize the potential. Young people, especially, may favour more risky forms of recreation, and if they are reasonably affluent this may require special equipment. With increased experience and more activities to pursue, recreation consumers are becoming more sophisticated, and the market is diversifying in order to meet the wide range of specialist markets. In the past, many public-sector recreation providers allowed people free access, or charged for permits to control the amount or season for different activities such as fishing or horseriding. The climate is often a vital factor in the capacity of an area to supply a particular range of recreation opportunities.
