Until now, the Leisure Industry has not been adequately or authoritatively defined. In fact, even the UK government has acknowledged in a parliamentary answer given in March 2012 that it is not able to provide a clear definition of the Leisure Industry.
The report reveals the clear economic value of the UK Leisure Industry that:
- Generates over £200 billion of revenue a year, when accounting for direct contributions (£117 billion) and indirect contributions (£102 billion)
- Provides 2.6 million jobs, representing 9% of the workforce, employing more people than the Manufacturing, Transport, Construction or Financial Serives sectors
- Supports a large number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) (66% of the Industry) and fosters a strong business start-up rate (20% higher than the UK average)
This report contains 5 sections. Sections 1-3 are contributions from Oliver Wyman; they propose a definition for the Leisure Industry, emphasize its size, scale and importance and highlight some challenges and headwinds it is facing today. Sections 4-5 are contributions from BISL; they put forward a set of 12 recommendations for government using the research in the earlier sections as a basis for proposed policy change. More information about the British Leisure Industry is available at BISL's website: http://www.bisl.org
