The leisure industry – encompassing cultural and natural heritage sites, travel, sport, entertainment and leisure education – is the fastest growing industry in the world and impacts on people, places and cultures. Although we often take this area of our lives for granted, leisure activities are increasingly important in terms of determining the quality of people’s lives. Whether we use our free time in beneficial, destructive or passive ways is likely to be one of the defining features of future societies.
While consumerism tempts us to spend money on playful, transitory experiences, many people are using their leisure time to search for the sense of meaning and authenticity they find lacking in other parts of their lives.
Leisure Studies offers a critical, theoretical perspective for exploring these issues with direct relevance to important social and cultural issues in contemporary society. It’s an exciting and rapidly evolving area of study with relevance to many other disciplinary areas.
