16 Apr 2013

2012 - a curate's egg

by Kurt Janson

The figures for UK domestic tourism in 2012 have been released by VisitEngland. They show that total number of visits for the year was down by 1 per cent to 126m while expenditure on domestic tourism was up £1.3bn to a record £24bn. Impressive figures, considering the impact of the weather, combined with the double-dip recession and the want of many people to sit in front of the TV during the Olympics. [more...]

15 Apr 2013

People Power

by Eva McDiarmid

A recent survey of overseas visitors landing at US airports found that bureaucratic and inefficient entry procedures at customs was putting people off travelling there. Moreover, the survey found that 43 per cent of respondents said they would tell others to avoid a trip to the US because of the entry process and 44 per cent of business travellers said they would not visit in the next 5 years for the same reason. [more...]

12 Mar 2013

Some facts to consider

by Eva McDiarmid

The World Economic Forum (WEF) published its fifth Competitiveness Report ‘Reducing Barriers to Economic and Job Creation' last week. Published biennially, it ranks 140 countries according to their attractiveness and ability to develop their travel and tourism industries. For the fifth time, Switzerland leads the rest of the world. The UK jumped one place to number five overall (and from 11thin 2009). Europe maintains the top five rankings making it (for now) the leading region globally for competitiveness. [more...]

19 Feb 2013

Food – a missed opportunity

by Eva McDiarmid

Another week, another food controversy which, like others in the past, will run and run. Major food scares have been hitting the headlines with increasing regularity for almost 20 years. First it was BSE (also known as Mad Cow Disease) in the 1990s. Then five years later it was Food and Mouth disease (FMD) and in 2007 there was a major outbreak of avian flu at a Bernard Matthews' 'farm'. [more...]

15 Feb 2013

When the waters run dry

by Aleatha Ezra

Each year the World Waterpark Association hears from its members that a particular issue has started to become of greater concern to them, and to the future success of their business. [more...]

15 Feb 2013

At the front line of conservation

by Jennifer Fields

There are a total of 221 zoos and aquariums accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) across seven countries. Each of these help connect people to nature and collectively they welcome 175 million visitors per year. [more...]

15 Feb 2013

Get ready to make and innovate

by Lucy Schweingruber

Tinkering, fabbing, trial and error – whatever you want to call it – the maker movement is spreading to science centres and museums across Europe. [more...]

15 Feb 2013

Visas – not sexy, but vital

by Liz Terry

Global growth in some parts of the attractions and tourism industry is being held back by confusing and antiquated visa regulations. That's the view of a number of industry leaders – most recently Merlin Entertainments' CEO, Nick Varney, who's flagged up the UK's visa policies as "a joke", and is calling for reform.  [more...]

15 Jan 2013

New style and substance

by Liz Terry

Happy New Year! The first edition of Leisure Management in 2013 marks the beginning of a new chapter in the magazine's development as it enters its 31st year and we hope you enjoy our new format, which will be more focused on the amazing people who make things happen in our industry. [more...]

07 Dec 2012

Big Conversation – big ambitions

by Sam Coulstock

For a few years now we have been hearing lots about youth unemployment, the lack of apprenticeships and the need for work experience. [more...]

27 Nov 2012

The Olympics – what happened?

by Kurt Janson

The impact of the Olympics on tourism to the UK was something that caused considerable speculation this year. [more...]

12 Nov 2012

TripAdvisor, apps, images and all that...

by Eva McDiarmid

For some, the name TripAdvisor has associations with Marmite, but like the 'love it or hate it' spread, the consumer travel website is here to stay. As a global player (it claims to be the largest and most popular travel community in the world) the TripAdvisor (TA) website is home to an ever-increasing number of reviews, opinions and photographs. [more...]

06 Nov 2012

National monuments

by Liz Terry

A new report published recently by the Monza and Brianza Chamber of Commerce in Italy has generated millions of column inches of publicity and web postings for its findings, which reveal the economic value of famous European monuments and attractions. [more...]

06 Nov 2012

The future is bright for water!

by Aleatha Ezra

More than 1,600 waterpark owners, operators, designers and manufacturers came together for the World Waterpark Association's annual show held in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. [more...]

06 Nov 2012

Incubator project KiiCS off in Europe

by Valentina Montalto

If science is about discovering reality and art is about representing different interpretations of reality, then what can these two fields come up with together? [more...]

06 Nov 2012

Making an impact

by Jennifer Fields

We often think of attractions in terms of how they interact with their guests, but what about the other ways they provide benefits to their community, professional colleagues and, perhaps most importantly, the environment? [more...]