The leisure industry is a high growth area, contributing 10% of UK gross domestic product GDP. It consists of the health and fitness, betting and gambling, and sports and recreation sectors.
Health and fitness is divided between private health clubs and public sector leisure centres. Added to this are health clubs that are located on-site by employers for the use of their employees and facilities in universities and schools. The recreation sector is divided into activities that happen in homes and those which do not. In-home activities include viewing, listening, reading, computing, DIY and gardening.
Out-of-home activities include pubs and bars, restaurants, cinemas, theatres, holiday parks, theme parks, museums, galleries, beaches and the countryside, and nightclubs The leisure industry employs 13. 5% of all UK workers over three million people and accounts for 10% of GDP. The sports sector employs 2% of all UK workers around 40,000 people and accounts for 2% of GDP.The government receives £5.
5 billion from sports through taxes. Political Issues The political issues that have affected the UK sports industry are that the governments are trying to promote a more active and healthier living of life for the younger generation.This has an effect on the UK sports industry as means that the children are going to get more active in sport and this they will join sports clubs and this means that the UK will benefit from this by having better athletes. As the children will tend to be fitter and in better hape to play sport mening that their coaches are able to get the best out of them and this means that UK sport is going to be played at igher level.
Economic issues The money to build and maintain sports facilities can come from a variety of sources: National Lottery – began in 1994.Bids can be made for a lottery funding grant although they must fulfill certain criteria e. g. access for disabled.
Government taxes – National and local government raise money through taxation including gambling levies. UK Sport – distributes money directly and via other bodies Sports National Governing bodies Sponsorship Membership schemes – entrance fees, booking fees, merchandise Private investment Individual athletes, teams, clubs, event organisers etc. The funding of sports performers Sports performers can receive money for playing sport in a number of ways – the more successful they are the greater the variety of sources of income.Potential sources are: Wages – Some sports pay performers a wage for playing Appearance money – In some sports players can be paid for taking part, usually by the event”s sponsors Prize money – The winner of an event may receive a sum of money Sponsorship – Financial backing from companies, who use the sport or performers to promote their products Scholarships – Some schools and organisations pay talented performers scholarships to cover the cost of training and competition, as well as their education The sports and leisure industries play a major role in the economic life of Britain.
The UK is well supplied with world-renowned sporting venues, such as Wimbledon, Twickenham, Lords, and Hampden Park. “Traditional British” sports equipment such as cricket bats, golf equipment and hockey sticks are popular UK exports, key export markets being Germany, USA, Italy, France and the Netherlands. Technological The effect of technological on sport can go back as far as the industrial revolution and this had a major impact on sport. Apart from hiring fairs and annual rush bearing ceremonies, most people were far too busy trying to make ends meet to think overmuch about enjoying themselves.
But the Industrial Revolution certainly made matters worse. If you work 14 or 15 hours a day in a factory, there is precious little time left for anything other than eating and sleeping. Sport, of course, was not a new phenomenon. Drake had finished off a game of bowls before seeing off the Spanish Armada, while there is some reason to suspect that a form of football – perhaps using a human head – had been practiced by the Roman legions.
Archery was always popular, not just in wartime, while golf and horse racing were the preserve of the wealthy.But now, the ability to watch and take part in sport was available to the masses. Workers had time available for leisure, and a year before the enactment of the 10-Hour Bill, in 1846, Manchester and Salford had opened their first three public parks – Peel Park, Queen”s Park and Philips Park – providing the space and facilities. The ability to travel quickly and conveniently between towns and cities improved sporting contacts – it is no coincidence that county cricket grounds, for instance, are all situated in places with good rail connections.
The spread of newspapers was even more dramatic. London boasted no fewer than 52 papers by the first decade of the 19th century, and to that could be added 100-plus in the provinces. This growth came about despite expensive restrictions such as Stamp and Paper Duties, which were only partially eased in the 1830s and were not finally abandoned until 1855. this had in impact on sport as this meant that sport was getting more publicity.
Of course, the railways made travel easier and this meant that athletes could travel to other counties to play other athletes.For example in football this allowed for teams from other countries to play each other, and this ultimate led to the growth to one of the biggest European club competitions in the world “the Champions League” and the biggest football tournament in the world the World Cup. Social The main social factors that affected sport where the unification of rules and this happed due to people going to university and having their own rules to sport and theses had to be combined to resolve the situation. This resulted to the making of sports bodies such as the FA Football Association.
All of these factors had an effect on the sectors some more so than others. Public The technological factors had a big impact on the public as due to the industrial revolution it allowed people to move around and allowed them to see sport being played in different places. Political UK Trade & Investment UK Trade & Investment is the Government Organisation that brings together the work of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office FCO and the Department of Trade & Industry DTI in support of British trade and investment overseas.Sector specific export help for Recreation and Leisure can be found on the UK Trade and Investment website.
Sports and Leisure Infrastructure Projects – This TPUK unit is responsible for maximising the opportunities for British companies in major sports and leisure infrastructure projects and events worldwide. It seeks to raise awareness of British expertise with overseas decision makers and organisers. For further information contact: Web sites 1. www.
ecb. co. uk 2. www.
brianmac. demon. co. uk 3.
http://www. bized. ac. uk/learn/leisure/sport/index.
htm 4.
