Recreation

Section 1: Fundamental Concepts

1.5 Recreation

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Recreation 23 possibility for a reflection and conscious interac-

tion with reality, to facilitate social changes.

In this sense, for Smith and Godbey (1991), the relationship between recreation and the sphere of work is of utmost importance. For them, recreation depends on work to have meaning and function. It is often seen as a catharsis, reviving and recreating the individual’s ability to return to work. Analysing this close relationship between the two terms, Jansen-Verbeke and Dietvorst (1987) propose that a better understanding of recreation is possible through a comprehensive analysis of the social, political and geographical contexts in which the individual lives. Thus, it is not the type of recrea- tional activity that defines its quality but instead the general context in which this activity is carried out. The characteristic of the activity will also depend on the degree of involvement, depth and whether it is performed individually or in a group.

In this context, McLean and Hurd (2015) offer an explanation of the relationship between these three elements: the intensity of experiences, the diversity of experiences and the socio-psychological implica- tions (Fig. 7).

Other studies involving the topic of contempo- rary recreation and that are focused on a few prior- ity areas can be cited, including the following:

● Recreation and health: Liechty et al. (2014) explore partnerships between health agencies and parks and recreation agencies to increase efficiency in medical treatments through inter- disciplinary partnerships, and Dorevitch et al.

(2012) analyse the health risks of people who practised recreation in water environments.

● Recreation in natural spaces: Numerous articles have been published in the Journal of Park and Recreation Administration, among them Roemer

and Vaske (2014), who analyse user satisfaction with national parks in the USA, and Ghimire et al. (2014), who compare the practice of recrea- tion between minority and non-minority groups.

● Recreation policies: Kuhlberg et al. (2014) dis- cuss the implementation of the open-streets ini- tiative in the USA as an incentive for practising physical activity, Lovell (2011) emphasizes the importance of recreation as a priority public policy, and Hall et al. (2014) address regulations for the recreational use of lakes in Florida.

● Recreation management in parks: Pettengill (2013) develops a transport planning and management system in parks and outdoor rec- reation spaces, Sharp et al. (2014) analyse the environmental management of parks and pro- tected areas, and von Ruschkowski et al. (2013) identify the practices and priorities of those responsible for park recreation plans in three countries.

● New topics: Gomez (2013) addresses the issue of dog parks in which the owners also have the option to amuse themselves by training their dogs, playing with their dogs and spending time with family. The article indicates that the social, psychological and physical benefits of dog parks are enjoyed by all users – dogs and humans alike – and that dog–dog, dog–human and human–

human relationships are established. Wilson et al. (2012) analyses San Francisco’s temporary parks and Sunday streets, the latter of which have been created due to the lack of public rec- reational spaces and the local population’s need to use, recognize and take ownership of public areas. A special edition of the Journal of Park and Recreation Administration (Vol. 32, no.  1, 2014) enriches the discussion of new topics Non-local recreation

Tourism

Business and personal travel Business and recreational travel Local recreation

Leisure

Recreation

Fig. 6. Relationships among leisure, recreation and tourism. (From Warn 1999, p. 4.)

24 Chapter 1.5 related to recreation by addressing leisure and the

transitions and changes that occur in life, such as ageing, health, acculturation and retirement.

The empirical evidence shows that, in the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, much of Europe and other wealthy countries, there are public poli- cies and incentives directed towards recreation (e.g. outdoor parks in the USA and Canada; incen- tives for recreation and tourism for the elderly in Spain; and the incentive for and responsibility of New Zealand’s Department of Conservation to explore the country’s natural and historical resources to promote recreation and tourism). In contrast, in the poorer countries of Latin America, Africa and Asia, there are few examples of govern- ment efforts along these lines. Some governments justify this situation by arguing that funding should be directed to the most urgent issues, such as health, security, transport, education, basic sani- tation and employment.

Operationalizing

One good example of government incentives for the leisure and recreation of city residents is that of Sunday streets or open streets (Wilson et al., 2012;

Kuhlberg et al., 2014). In this model, low-traffic streets chosen by neighbourhood residents are closed on Sundays and holidays for recreation and leisure activities, such as soccer games, volleyball, chatting with friends, cycling and concerts.

In various cities worldwide, including Mexico City, São Paulo, Bogota, New York and St Louis (see the example of Minneapolis at http://www.

openstreetsmpls.org/os_about), open streets are a widely available resource frequently used by the population; in addition, they are encouraged by public agencies. In contrast, this action evidences a challenge confronted by metropolises in their mar- ginal regions: the lack of appropriate spaces, such as squares, parks and sports centres, specifically designated for recreation and leisure.

Exercise

Identify whether your country or region has recrea- tion as a public policy agenda. If recreation is not a public policy issue, identify and prepare a short presentation on the reasons that this has not occurred. If your country or region does have a public recreation policy, identify its main objectives and consider the results that have been achieved.

Family reunion

Skydiving

Picnic

Concert attendance

Canoeing

Reading Chess game Nature

hike Inline skating

Driving for pleasure

Variety/diversity of experiences Social–ps

ychological implications

Intensity/depth of experience

Dancing Painting

Internet surfing

Baseball game

Fig. 7. A simple representation of the complexity of recreation and leisure experiences. (From McLean and Hurd, 2015.)

Recreation 25

References

Colton, C.W. (1987) Leisure, recreation, tourism: a sym- bolic interactionism view. Annals of Tourism Research 14, 345–360.

Dorevitch, S., Pratap, P., Wroblewski, M., Hryhorczuk, D.O., Li, H., Liu, L.C. and Scheff, P.A. (2012) Health risks of limited-contact water recreation. Environmental Health Perspectives 120, 192–197.

Dumazedier, J. (1975) Questionamento Teórico do Lazer.

SESC, São Paulo, Brazil.

Ghimire, R., Green, G.T., Poudyal, N.C. and Cordell, H.K.

(2014) An analysis of perceived constraints to outdoor recreation. Journal of Park and Recreation Administration 32, 52–67.

Goeldner, R.C., Ritchie, J.R.B. and McIntosh, R.W.

(2002) Turismo: Princípios, Práticas e Filosofias, 8th edn. Bookman, Porto Alegre, Brazil.

Gomez, E. (2013) Dog parks: benefits, conflicts, and sug- gestions. Journal of Park and Recreation Administration 31, 79–91.

Hall, H.R., McCarty, C. and Clark, M.W. (2014) Regulatory protection and definition for recreational uses of Florida lakes. Lake and Reservoir Management 30, 115–118.

Jansen-Verbeke, M. and Dietvorst, A. (1987) Leisure, recreation, tourism: a geographic view on integration.

Annals of Tourism Research 14, 361–375.

Kuhlberg, J.A., Hipp, J.A., Eyler, A.A. and Cheng, G.

(2014) Open streets initiatives in the U.S.: closed to traffic, open to physical activity. Journal of Physical Activity and Health 11, 1468–1474.

Liechty, T., Mowen, A.J., Payne, L.L., Henderson, K.A., Bocarro, J.N., Bruton, C. and Godbey, G.C. (2014) Public park and recreation managers’ experiences with health partnerships. Journal of Park and Recreation Administration 32, 11–27.

Lovell, P. (2011) Reframing recreation as a public policy pri- ority. In: Allen, L.R. and Barcelona, R.J. (eds) Recreation as a Developmental Experience: New Directions for Youth Development. Jossey-Bass/Wiley, San Francisco, California, pp. 141–150.

Marcellino, N.C. (1987) Lazer e Educação. Papirus, Campinas, Brazil.

McLean, D.D. and Hurd, A.R. (2015) Kraus’ Recreation and Leisure in Modern Society, 10th edn. Jones and Bartlett Publishers, Burlington, Vermont.

Pettengill, P.R. (2013) Managing Transportation in Parks and Outdoor Recreation. University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont.

Roemer, J.M. and Vaske, J.J. (2014) National park service visitor satisfaction: a comparative analysis.

Journal of Park and Recreation Administration 32, 35–51.

Sharp, R.L., Lemieux, C.J., Thompson, J.L. and Dawson, J. (2014) Enhancing parks and protected area management in North America in an era of rapid climate change through integrated social science. Journal of Park and Recreation Administration 32, 1–18.

Silva, D.A.M., Stoppa, E.A., Isayama, H.F., Marcellino, N.C.

and Melo, V.A. (2011) A Importância da Recreação e do Lazer. Gráfica e Editora Ideal, Brasília.

Smith, S.L.J. and Godbey, G.C. (1991) Leisure, recrea- tion and tourism. Annals of Tourism Research 18, 85–100.

von Ruschkowski, E., Burns, R.C., Arnberger, A., Smaldone, D. and Meybin, J. (2013) Recreation management in parks and protected areas: a comparative study of resource managers’ percep- tions in Austria, Germany, and the United States.

Journal of Park and Recreation Administration 31, 95–114.

Warn, S. (1999) Recreation and Tourism: A Changing Industry. Nelson Thornes, London.

Wilson, J.D., Tierney, P., MiSook, K. and Zieff, S. (2012) Temporary parks? Sunday streets, serving the need for urban outdoor recreation. Journal of Park and Recreation Administration 30, 38–52.

Further Reading

Edginton, C.R., Hudson, S.D. and Lankford, S.V. (2015) Managing Recreation, Parks, and Leisure Services:

an Introduction, 4th edn. Sagamore Publishing, Urbana, Illinois.

Goodhead, T. and Johnson, D. (2013) Coastal Recreation Management: the Sustainable Development of Maritime Leisure. Taylor and Francis, London.

Hall, M.C. and Page, S.J. (2014) The Geography of Tourism and Recreation: Environment, Place and Space, 4th edn. Routledge, London.

Torkildsen, G. (1983) Leisure and Recreation Management, 5th edn. Routledge, London.

Zieff, S.G., Kim, M.S., Wilson, J. and Tierney, P. (2014) A “Ciclovía” in San Francisco: characteristics and physical activity behavior of Sunday streets par- ticipants. Journal of Physical Activity and Health 11, 249–255.

26 © G. Lohmann and A. Panosso Netto 2017. Tourism Theory (G. Lohmann and A. Panosso Netto) The term tourism has evolved throughout the 20th

century and today inhabits the imaginary and eve- ryday life of much of the world’s population. The term tourism is used to characterize a socio- cultural phenomenon that involves transport, moti- vations, accommodation, hospitality, impacts and the economic, cultural, social and environmental sectors affected and fuelled by the movement of people around the world. Tourism means much more than can be expressed by a simple word, and it may be seen as both reflecting social practices and involving social representations.

The most common views of tourism include holi- days, travel, rest, leisure and pleasure, and an escape from reality; it also generates employment and income and spreads culture. Tourism is the sum of the phenomena resulting from travel or move- ment away from one’s habitual place of residence and economic activity. However, in themselves, these views do not express the complexity of the phenomenon. Tourism permeates much of human actions and the world economy; we understand it as the ‘phenomenon of human beings leaving and returning to their usual place of residence, for clear or hidden reasons, which implies hospitality, meet- ing and communication with other people and using technology, among numerous other condi- tions, which will generate varied experiences and different impacts’ (Panosso Netto, 2010, p. 33).

According to studies by Panosso Netto and Tomillo Noguero (2011), the first scientific – or at least more theoretical – studies on tourism date back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These early works include those of Eduard Guyer-Freuler (1874, 1905), who was not only Zurich’s tourism director in 1894 but also a hotel owner and writer.

His most famous book is Hotelwesen der Gegenwart (1874), a work that addressed not only the impor- tance of professionalism in the hotel industry but also technical questions, such as cleaning and hygiene, room size, the ideal lighting for each space

and types of management. This work shows the historical moment of the hotel industry, its prob- lems and its most important topics. In another study entitled Fremdenverkehr und Hotelwesen, Guyer- Freuler (1905) established the relationship between tourism and the hotel industry. This article contains one of the first definitions of tourism to include technical, social and economic elements: it states that tourism is, in a modern sense, a phenomenon of our time that can be explained by the increasing need for rest and a change of scenery, the appear- ance and development of a taste for the beauty of the landscape, and the satisfaction and well-being obtained from untouched nature, as well as, par- ticularly, the growing relationships between differ- ent peoples, the increase in companies that has given rise to the development of trade, the industry and professions, and the improvement of different means of transport (Guyer-Freuler, 1905).

The Austrian economist Josef Stradner (1890) highlighted the economic power of tourism when he stated that the range of snow-covered moun- tains that were once a barrier to Austria’s economic development had become part of the national wealth, and that ‘its income is represented by the amount of money that tourism brings to the country each year’ (Stradner, 1890, pp. 257–258). Furthermore, he identified foreigners (tourists) visiting Steiermark, whose capital is Graz (Austria), based on their travel motivations, characterizing those travelling for religious reasons, those travelling for business and rest, and those seeking fresh mountain air and therapeutic treatment in the region and in its thermal springs. In Fremdenverkehr: Eine volkswirtschaftli- che Studie, from 1905, considered by Panosso Netto et al. (2011) to be Stradner’s most important book, the author presents his definition of tourism as fol- lows: ‘The business of travel drives an on-going professional activity, which arises from the transport of luxury travellers; tourism in the strict sense drives the needs of culture, intellectual life, the spirit,