The Countryside Council for Wales (CCW) commissioned LUC and the Lancashire Business School to carry out a two-part study looking at outdoor recreation in eleven countries, including Wales. The work aimed to inform policy development in Wales by drawing on best practice from elsewhere.
The first part of the study took the form of a literature review, assessing the policy context, funding, level of participation, drivers for change and major issues associated with recreation in each county. This involved a synthesis of information gathered from written documentation, supplemented by correspondence with commentators from each country. The review led to the identification of four case studies; Colorado, France, New Zealand and Norway. Researchers contacted and interviewed a number of lead representatives in each country which led to the formulation of five papers considering participation, health, provision of opportunities, policy imperatives and organisational structures.
The second part of the study focused in further detail on these four countries, reviewing different approaches and examples of best practice. This enabled a comparative analysis of policy and management approaches, which identified common and contrasting issues and potential solutions. It also afforded a more detailed analysis of some of the fundamental issues in recreational management facing policy makers in countries such as Wales.
The research found that the case countries were facing two main issues
1. Trends in outdoor recreation are driven by three major factors; population, disposable income and tastes. There are two clearly defined trends affecting all countries; a shift in emphasis towards individualised and commercial outdoor recreation which requires more equipment, and a greater resource base with a focus on adventure tourism. 2. In response to the first trend, there has been an increase in the supply of outdoor recreation facilities such as parks and trails with some nearer to urban areas.
Additionally all the case countries have experienced a decline in physical activity paralleled by a rise in levels of obesity and people who are overweight - obesity levels in children is one of the greatest areas of concern. Research indicates that there are however degrees of segmentation with activity levels higher in more educated and richer segments of the population.
Other key findings include the need to balance the growth in nature tourism with the need to minimise and/or reduce recreational impacts on the environment. This will result in trade-offs between the values of conservation and individual enjoyment of the recreation user. Decisions associated with recreation need to be informed by a range of influences including ecological effects resulting from different activities, their intensity, the ecological characteristics of their location and the psychological characteristics of the recreation user, their motives for choosing an activity and their likely behaviour. The review also found that access to recreational opportunities and organisational structures differed across the case countries.
The work informed CCW's thinking on policy direction for recreation considering good practice, management of issues, funding, structures of organisations and relationships with others. Through policy direction it is anticipated that measures will be put in place to respond to a change in demand for recreation, encourage physical activity whilst balancing such demand against environmental impacts.
