Key Components in the Leisure and Recreation Industry Essay Example for Free

Key Comp atomic number 53nts in the Leisure and Recreation Industry EssayRecreational activities declension into six key components, which in turn argon divided into sectors. Some activities will fit into frequently than one category, and other activities argon hard to put into any category, much(prenominal) as bridge clubs- be they a sport or a home based va elicitt activity ?The primary(prenominal) components ar* liberal liberal humanistic discipline and Entertainment* Home-based Leisure* Countryside recreation* Catering* Heritage and visitor attractions* Sports and forcible recreationArts and EntertainmentThis is a huge industry that includes some sectors, they atomic number 18ArtsThe arts, apart from commercial pic and firm is a precarious industry where losses atomic number 18 easily incurred due to high cost and a very fragmented market. Sponsorship and grants looseness an important part in these. The public houselic sector plays the to the highest degree crucial part in lineing arts. At the top is the Arts Council, which in 1999 gave out 188 gazillion in grants. Much of this came from the National Lottery. Some of it was given out to Regional Arts Boards who then fund local projects. Much of the grant aid is given directly to memorial tablets or individuals.The Arts Council is not the simply national public sector organisation to be involved in the arts. One important base is The British Film Institute (BFI)which is responsible for supporting film makers, and the promotion of the British film industry. local anesthetic authorities play an important role as well. They employ arts development officers who promote the arts locally and will support local artists. Some larger authorities employ established artists in residence, who work in the area promoting their art and creating commissioned pieces. topical anesthetic Authorities are major providers of galleries and doing space such as town hall stages or community theatres or even parish halls. In some cases, such as the Lyric Theatre at Hammersmith, capital of the United Kingdom is a part proprietor of a commercial theatre.Voluntary sector groups also contri exactlye to this sector. Many deposits exist to develop nonage arts or provide for specialist audiences. For example, Wolf and Water in Devon is a drama trust dedicated to working with nation with special needs.EntertainmentClassified as entertainment are normal per frame of referenceing arts and spectacles. The voluntary sector is important here as nationwide participation in amateur dramatics and music is a popular pursuit. Public homework is also evident but has changed in recent years. Thirty years ago most town halls and civic entertainments programme of films, theatre and musicals. This has by and large disappeared now and has been replaced by events programmes that are organised by various departments. For example, many sports centres will server travelling theatre and ballet companies s uch as the Royal Exchange Theatre Group, while arts officers will book in tourism exhibitions. In the streets and parks outside, groups are invited to put on events such as the hot-air balloon events in Bristols Parks.It is the private sector that monopolises entertainment. There is a flourishing small-business sector that includes pub entertainments and single artists such as party and street entertainers, but the bulk of the market is contained within ternion areas 1.cinemas 2. Theatre 3. Stadia/arenasCinema-was very popular in the first half of the 20th century. Then when colour televisions and scene players appeared cinemas started to lose at that place appeal to the public. Cinema companies were not refurbishing their buildings, most of which were built in the 1930s, and were finding scratch by selling them off as bingo halls. Some survived by aiming at niche markets(e.g. box House in Manchester). These art house cinemas show foreign films. The main market is for commercia l English-language films. In the 1980s there was a major review of how films were presented. This resulted in multiplexes being invented. They are equipped with the by-line features* Modern luxurious buildings with high-quality projection and sound* Multi screens to show move films than one* Easy access lots at out-of-town centres* Good customer careThe closest multiplex cinema around is the Warner Brothers closure in Longwell Green. This complex has all the features shown aboveTheatre-the London theatres are highly profitable with a metropolis audience and a huge tourist market. Even then, they increasingly stick to a formula of musicals or familiar plays with big name actors. For example Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was shown at Londons Palindrome with Michael Ball starring in it. The package largely consists of touring West End shows, nostalgia and tribute bands, comedians and spectacles standardized circus and ice shows.The main London Theatre companies are* Delfont Mackintosh T heatres* Ambassador Theatre Group* Really Useful Theatres* SFX (Apollo)Apollo leisure is the leading national chainArenas and Stadia- these are large multi-purpose buildings for very large audiences. Arenas(indoor) for example are in all probability to put on conferences and trade exhibitions as well as concerts, while stadia(outdoor) are designed in particular for sport. An example of a stadia is Ashton Gate home to Bristol City Football Club. Many arenas are owned by topical anesthetic Authorities or development corporations. Good examples of this are the various halls and centres in Birmingham ,including the National Arena.Sports and physical recreationThese activities can be grouped as follows* Informal recreation(play, walking, gardening)* Competitive sport (football, tennis, golf)* Outdoor activities (sailing, climbing)* wellness and fitness (jogging, yoga)Many activities can often be put into more than one category. For example, swimming in the sea is informal, swimming f or a club is competitive, swimming in a conventional pool can be seen as health and fitness.Each component has a different profile in the token of facilities and values it produces.Informal physical recreation or exercise- this is the most popular activity nationally. Nobody knows the hours children come somewhat playing or adults spend gardening. We pursue these activities because they are cheap, available and dont require a lot of skill. The usage we get from them often depends on the environment we do them in.Competitive Sport-most people associate sport with the original game. This means they are spectators, and it is the spectators money that underpins professional sport. Facilities were often run down to the extent that some were precarious for crowds, e.g. Hillsborough 1989. Providers have found that profits increase when standards of customer care and corporate hospitality are improved. This has guide to the building of a new generation of high-class stadia and race tracks and other facilities where the key attends are* Presentation of the core event* Merchandising* Catering* Safety and securityAmateur sport is pitch around participation and voluntary clubs. As land and buildings are expensive, many clubs use facilities provided by Local Authorities. Many outdoor sports clubs have their own facilities although there is an even greater number of players who use recreation grounds. There are about 78,000 pitches in the country. Thirty years ago amateur sport was largely centred on outdoor team games.Competitive sport means participation and developing skills and there is a sizeable industry for coaches and instructors. Despite its profile, competitive sport is on the decline and organisations desire Sport England are concerned that as a nation we are losing our sporting skills and becoming less fit and healthy. For example, many governing bodies have big school-based programmes, and Local Authorities will run schemes in deprived areas where pe ople cannot afford to play sport or go to health suites.Outdoor Activities-there are over a thousand centres in the UK which specialise in providing outdoor adventure holidays. Facility provision is also necessity for outdoor sports, meaning the upkeep of the environment, and this is regulated by the organisations under the Countryside Agency umbrella, such as the Forestry Commission, Local Authorities or National Trust. For most participants activity in the natural world is occasional, and more beat will be spent in training in built facilities such as pools or climbing walls. Profitable areas such as skiing, sailing, private sector companies are the main providers.Health and Fitness- there are now at least 2,500 private health and fitness clubs in the UK- it is a blast industry that many young people see as the exciting place to work in leisure. Private sector will increasingly dominate the market and eventually also manage and institutionalise in public sector facilities on b ehalf of Local Authorities.The central product of these clubs is the fitness room consisting of cardiovascular equipment and perhaps free weights, and frequently areas with small pools, jacuzzis and saunas..Heritage and visitor attractionsThe heritage industry concerns buildings and materials that have diachronic value. Thirty years ago these were largely stately homes, castles, ruins such as Stonehenge and battlefields. Heritage was often about how the rich and famous had lived or what they had collected, or about culture(e.g. Shakespeare). Now it has expanded to include a much wider interpretation of historicalal value.Whether the attraction is a theme park or museum, the organisers will do their exceed to employ all the techniques of facility management to forecast after the customer and make the product involutioning. In a theme park the excitement of the rides is a key feature and bringing new and more exciting rides brings in more customers. The difference between a visi tor attraction and a heritage site is that the latter involves considerable work behind the scenes which the public never sees. The most popular tourist attractions are* Museums and galleries- British Museum* Theme parks- Blackpool Pleasure Beach* Historic houses and monuments- Tower of London* Wild manners parks and zoos- London ZooMany heritage sites are owned by Trusts and limited companies that have been set up to manage individual sites, while many stately homes are owned and run by cardinal big organisations* English Heritage- is the national body responsible for the management, promotion and conservation of 400 archaeological sites and the historic environment* The National Trust- is a trust set up in 1895 to preserve places of historic interest or natural beauty. Its sites include a range from Paul McCartneys teenage home to stately homes like Waddesdon ManorMuseums-are not usually run by the private sector, largely because of high costs. Many museums started life as privat e collections which were later donated to the nation or the local community.Libraries-apart from their lending their services which we will look at later, they are largely involved in the heritage sector. They have a back-room role of pile up important documents including maps, and making these available to the public. This is known as the records and archives service.CateringLeisure catering includes pubs and clubs, restaurants, cafes and takeaways. Its firmly placed in the private sector with some exceptions. A catering company provides a service according to the specification of the client and often under the clients name. Many leisure centres and theatres buy in service in this way.The catering sector has various components that make eating out an enjoyable experience the provision of food and drink entertainment, such as jazz at Pizza Express, games and security in the form of door staff. Eating out is an increasingly important and available leisure experience. The fast-food business is booming with a growth rate of 30 per cent. This growth is at the expense of takeaways and cafes, and especially of pubs and clubs. Fast food tends to be run by chains that can make economies of scale by producing the same product in each outlet. Many breweries have followed this trend and operate chains like Harvester restaurants within their pubs. In contrast cafes, restaurants and takeaways tend to be run and owned by family businesses.Countryside recreationThe countryside is the natural, national playground and one which is used by walkers, ramblers and those involved in more active outdoor activities. A survey in 1998 by the National Centre for Social Research showed that 1,427 million day visits to the countryside were made and a unless 241 million to the coast.Like any leisure facility such usage will have an shock absorber which in turn will lessen, and even threaten, the leisure experience itself. Organisations working in countryside recreation are therefore pr imarily stewards who maintain, manage and regulate the environment and also produce information and education. An important organisation funded by the Countryside Commission is the National Parks Authority. This is responsible for the regulation and interpretative service inside xii National Parks, which are designated areas of significant natural beauty and wilderness. The Local Authority has a part to play in managing and regulating country parks. In many cases it also owns the land and will act as landlord to any tenants in the park, such as farmers.Home-based leisureThis is cheap, easy and relaxing. The equipment most popularly used are radios, videos, TV sets, gardening materials and home fitness machines is normally provided by the private sector. The main exceptions are the subroutine library lending services in the public sector. Except for broadcasting this component is retail based.As the internet is more widely used, shopping for leisure on the net is likely to increas e. Free services like Tesco mean more people are using the net.