Geographical contributions to the study of leisure

Abstract

In recent years geographers have made substantial contributions to research and methodology in the field of leisure, and more specifically with respect to recreation and tourism. Discussion of recent developments in geography is followed by a review of international tourism studies. The involvement of British geographers in recreation and tourism studies is then traced, including their cooperation with economists in impact and second-home studies. Conceptual models of recreational geography are reviewed. It is concluded that geographers working in the leisure field need to keep in touch with developments in related disciplines and to rectify the imbalance of data gathered so far.