ABSTRACT
Increasing recreation activity has made the need to plan more important, particularly as there is substantial government involvement in provision. In this context forecasting should provide the basis for government initiatives and for policies to direct the private-sector. Forecasts may be used to assess future demand for an activity or facility and so guide policies for provision, or to assess the impact of a particular proposal. Trend lines are rather more useful for sites or areas than for activities, mainly because attendance data is likely to be more readily available. Any site or resort has a finite upper limit to its capacity to accommodate recreationists. The main advantage of normative-based planning of recreation is that it is likely to lead to action, and as most standards are conservative this is unlikely to lead to overprovision of facilities. The characteristic purposes of recreation are rest, amusement, personal and social development, disinterested education and improvement of skills.
