Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
analysed at different geographical scales from the national and regional down to the local
level or micro scale.
MEASURING RECREATIONAL DEMAND
Most geographers acknowledge the continued lack of suitable data on recreational
demand, as Patmore (1983) explains:
Prior to the 1960s sources were scattered and fragmentary, and lacked any
coherent basis. The studies undertaken for the American Outdoor
Recreation Resources Review Commission and published in 1962 gave
the impetus for work in Britain. Two wideranging national surveys were
carried out later in the latter part of that decade: the Pilot National
Recreation Survey…and the Government social survey's Planning for
Leisure…. These surveys remain unique at national level.
(Patmore 1983:55)
Although such surveys also have a number of limitations—they were 'one-off studies, the
methods of data collection did not allow comparability of the data for each survey, and
the results are often dated on publication due to the time required to analyse the results—
they were a starting point for analysing demand. Yet since 1972 no major survey
specifically focusing on leisure has been undertaken in the UK, although the General
Household Survey (GHS), which normally occurs every four years (see Parker 1999), has
included a number of questions on leisure.
PROBLEMS AND METHODS OF MEASURING
RECREATIONAL DEMAND
When seeking to understand their recreational habits, asking individuals questions about
their recreational habits using social survey techniques remains the most widely used
approach. A landmark study by Rowntree and Lavers (1951) of
English Life and Leisure
provides a good illustration of the early use of a diverse range of research methods and
sources to construct patterns of participation in leisure and recreation in post-war Britain.
Even so, researchers recognise that precision is needed to identify participation, non-
participation and the frequency of each. For this reason, questions on surveys need to
follow the type of format used on the GHS, to provide both a temporal and quantitative
measure of demand. Patmore (1983:57) cites the GHS, which begins by asking
respondents: 'What…things have you done in your leisure time…in the four weeks
ending last Sunday?'
Survey data rarely record all the information a researcher seeks (e.g. respondents'
recall ability may not accurately record the full pattern), or respondents have a different
understanding of a term from that intended by the researcher. As a result, a variety of
survey techniques are necessary to derive a range of complementary and yet unique
insights into recreation demand.
