Leisure and Recreation
A random group of people asked to explain their
understanding of the terms leisure and recreation would give very different
answers. Some would regard leisure as time when they are not at work while
others would think of specific recreational activities that they carry out in
their leisure time such as gardening, listening to the radio, playing tennis or
going to the cinema.
A dictionary definition of the term leisure says that it is
‘time free from employment’. This too does not give a complete answer to the
question; it fails to take into account of many necessary duties and functions
that we all have to perform in our daily lives such as eating, sleeping and
carrying out domestic routines. Unemployed people do not fit very easily into
such a definition either with most agreeing that they have more leisure time
than they want.
A comprehensive definition of the term leisure would
necessary include all of the following elements.
- Time outside of a formal employment situation
- Time over and above that devoted to necessary household chores
- Time outside sleeping, eating and personal hygiene functions
- Time at the disposal of the individual
- Time when an individual has the freedom to choose what to do
The last two elements concerning an individual’s freedom of choice are perhaps getting us closer to the true meaning of leisure. Rather than a mechanistic calculation of the time left over when all necessary task have been completed, leisure is much more about time when an individual can strive to reach his or her potential as a human being and become a productive member of society.
Recreation is often considered to be the activities that
individuals carry out in their leisure time. As such the range of potential
recreational activities is very broad as the next section on leisure activities
makes clear. It is however too simplistic to say that a definition of
recreation is concerned only with activities. The term ‘recreation’ comes from
the Latin word recreatio, meaning that which refreshment or restoration.
Activities Included in Leisure
Official statistics collected and published include the following recreational activities within the leisure activities.
Official statistics collected and published include the following recreational activities within the leisure activities.
- Watching TV
- Listening to radio, record and tapes
- Reading books
- Gardening
- Do-it-yourself
- Dressmaking, needlework and knitting
- Visiting, entertaining friends or relatives
The following are some of the activities categorized as ‘leisure away from home’.
- Going to the cinema, theater and ballet
- Visiting tourist attraction
- Taking part in indoor sports, games and physical activities (e.g. snooker swimming, badminton, ice skating, darts, etc.)
- Taking parts in outdoor sports, games and physical activities.
- Taking holidays and day trips
It’s important for the leisure and recreation manager to be aware of the various factors that influence participation in leisure as well as the types of activities that are preferred by different group in society. There are many and varied and as we shall see in the part of this text looking at the history of leisure and tourism, that change our time.
Some of the important factors are as follows:
- Availability of leisure time: One of the most basic factors since no leisure time equals no leisure activity. Women in full time employment also have less leisure time when compared with their male counterparts, the result of spending more time on household chores and child care.
- Income: A low disposable income leaves an individual with little, if any money to use on leisure and recreation activities for which there are charges. Many facilities offer discounts to those on low incomes to help alleviate the problems.
- Personal mobility: This can influence greatly the ability to get involved in local leisure activities; the problem is particularly acute in rural districts and other areas where public transport provision is poor.
- Culture and demography: Factor such as age, marital status, gender, education, skills, cultural background, social class & personality will all influence on leisure and recreation participation and choice.
- Provision and facilities: If you live in an area which offer high quality leisure and recreation facilities at responsible prices, the chances are that more likely to grab the opportunities.
Travel Organizer’s Function
Travel organizers fulfill a number of important functions.
Travel organizers fulfill a number of important functions.
For example:
- They offer specialist knowledge and advice in the same way that you might ask a plumber to fix a leaking pipe rather than trying to do it yourself, travel agents and tour operators are specialists in their field, many with years of valuable experience about countries, health requirements for traveler and the various travel options open to the clients.
- They are access to up to date information by using reference manuals and computer databases, they has/known quickly and information on travel services which is not available to members of general public.
- They have the ability to negotiate discounts in return for a guaranteed volume of business with the suppliers of travels services. Travel agents & tour operators can offer reduced rates to their clients.
- They offer security to their clients and companies which are registered with industry association.
- They offer an after sale services; most good travels organizers understand that their services does not finish when the product has been sold. For example a travel agent may well contact clients soon after their holiday or a business trip to find out it everything went according to plan. Apart from anything else this is good for public relation of agency.
Types of Travel Organizers
The very diverse nature of the tourism and travels industry
means that there is a wide range of organizations that arrange travel on behalf
of others. In term of volume of sales, the two most important are travel agents
and tour operators. To those can be added a number of other organizations which
undertake travel arrangements, including;
- Coach operators
- Airlines
- Ferry Companies
- Railway Organizations
- Travel department
- School & other educational institutions
- Youth group
- Religious groups
- Clubs & societies
- Conference organizations
Recruitment for Leisure and Tourism Industries
Good staffs are the backbone of any organization in the
service sector and particularly in tourism and leisure where they are in an
integral part of the experience that the customers are buying. But how can you
be sure of getting the best people for the job? A through approach to
recruitment and selection paying attention to detail and allowing to see the
process through to its completion will pay dividends to the organization and in
particular will go a long way towards reducing the high level of staff turnover
that are found in some sectors of leisure and tourism. Management time spent on
recruitment should be regarded as a wise investment for the further all too
often more time and attention is given to choosing a new computer system than
to selecting the most important resource that the organization has its staff.
Legal and Ethical Considerations
1 - Contracts of Employment
An employment contract is a written document that sets out
the terms and conditions under which a member of staff is expected to work.
Most leisure and tourism organization will want to give every member of staff a
written statement that gives details about the job, rates of pay, holiday
entitlement, etc. If such points are not clarified in writing, there may be
disputes at a later date about what was agreed at the time when the employee
started the job.
The contract of employment varies between one organization
and another but there are some basic points that should be included, namely;
- The names of both parties to the contract, i.e. the name of the employee and the name of organization
- The job title
- The date when the period of employment began
- Details of remuneration
- Conditions relating to hours of work
- Holiday entitlement and the holiday pay
- Procedure relating to incapacity to work through sickness or injury including any provisions for sick pay
- Any pension arrangement
- Periods of notice on both sides relating to the termination of the contract
- Details of grievance procedure
Although under the law not all employees have to be given a contract of employment, every worker has a right to receive a formal written offer of acceptance from their employer confirming their appointment .This letter should include;
- An offer of work
- Hours to be worked
- Standard opening and closing hours of the organization
- Start date and time
- Details of where and to whom the new employee should report
2 - Equal Opportunities
It is very fashionable for leisure and tourism organization
to publicity announce that they are ‘equal opportunities employers ‘or that
they are working towards equality of opportunity. In the same way that an organization may say
that it is committed to customer care, however there must be a firm
organizational policy that puts the words into action and proves that a
commitment to equal opportunities for its workforce is more than just a
statement of good committed.
Such a policy should include:
- A clear statement that the organization will avoid all forms of discrimination in its employment practices
- A statement that it will take steps to outlaw discrimination if or when it is found to occur
- What the policy means in terms of recruitment, selection, training and promotion of staff
- How the policy will be monitored and evaluated
- Who will be responsible for managing the implementation of the policy
An equal’s opportunity that includes each of these elements
and its implemented with the full support of both management and staff will go
a long way towards allowing employees to achieve their full potential without
the fear of being held back by prejudice or discrimination.
The three most common types of discrimination that employees
or those seeking employment in leisure and tourism are likely to encounter are:
- Discrimination on the grounds of race
- Sex or gender discrimination
- Discrimination related to equal pay
This list is by no means exhaustive and focuses on the areas
of discrimination thought to be the most common in leisure and tourism.
Careers in Leisure and Tourism
People who work in leisure and tourism or who are
considering a career in the industry, should;
- Be a people or person like working with the general public and serving their needs
- Be prepared to work unsocial hours
- Be aware of the importance of high standards of customer care and customer service
- Be patient and able to work under pressure at times
- Be able to know where to find relevant information in answer to inquiries
- Be accurate in their work, particularly when dealing with money matters
- Be able to accept responsibility and work with little supervision
- Be able to demonstrate basic computer skills
- Be prepared to team fast
In return, the leisure and tourism industry offers:
- Satisfying jobs where employees get pleasure from helping others make best use of their leisure time
- Opportunities for travel both at home and abroad
- Great variety in the work that is undertaken
- Excellent prospectus often at a young age for those with talent and determination
Jobs in Leisure and Recreation
The range of possible careers in leisure and recreation is
very broad and includes:
- Hotel management
- Sports coaching
- Casino
- Arts managements
- Pub or restaurant management
- Countryside managements
- Sports administration
- Contract catering
- Event managements
- Teaching / lecturing
- Outdoor pursuits
- Conference planning
- Leisure center managements
- Sports man / women
Jobs in Travel & Recreation
- Airlines and airport
- Tour operators
- Tourist attractions
- Coach operators
- Tourist information center
- Ferry and cruise companies
- Travel agencies
- Local authority tourism department
- Hotel and other accommodation
- Car hire companies
- Guiding