Understanding the growth in outdoor recreation participation: an opportunity for sport development in the United Kingdom

ABSTRACTThis paper examines the growth in importance and scale of the outdoor recreation sector in the United Kingdom. It establishes a five-component model to help understand the growth in this sub-sector of the wider sport and physical activity industry. The paper is based on a narrative literature review of the importance of outdoor recreation and also sets the position of the sector in terms of sport policy in the UK. From determining the factors that are underpinning the growing importance of the sector the article goes on to establish implications for policy and practice in sport policy and development in the UK and beyond. It seeks to establish lesson learning between industry and academia that has underpinned the evolution of outdoor recreation policy development in recent years. Furthermore, it establishes future research agendas and directions for those working in outdoor recreation and physical activity spaces and places.