1. Leisure, Sport and Tourism: Politics, Policy and Planning
A.J. Veal
Chapter 3:
Wants, Needs, Obligations, Demand, Benefits and Participation

2. Contents Needs: Wants: desires not classified as needs
In leisure planning: necessities
In tourism: basis of all wants/desires
Wants: desires not classified as needs
Obligations: Participation related to social obligations
Demand: Economics-based: amounts of a good/ service purchased at various prices
Benefits: (Net) positive effects from participation
Participation: Taking part in an activity

3. WANTS & NEEDS: Approaches to conceptualisation
Maslow's hierarchy of need
Optimal arousal and incongruity
Leisure satisfaction scales
Bradshaw/Mercer typology of need
Universal needs
False needs
Socio-economic deprivation

4. Needs: official statements (Box 3.1)
UK: 1999: Local Cultural Strategies guidelines:
Local cultural strategies are to be based on 'the needs of local communities’.
One of the benefits of developing such strategies is their focus on the 'needs, demands and aspirations' of communities. (DCMS, 1999)
Australia: 2003: NSW Cultural Planning guidelines:
Cultural amenities can be seen not as something remote or apart from everyday life but fundamental to people's needs. (NSW Ministry for the Arts & Dept of Local Government, 2002: 2)

5. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (1954)
Five types of ‘need’ arranged in a hierarchy of ‘prepotency’ (attended to in sequence):
Physiological needs
Safety needs
Affiliation needs
Esteem needs
Self-actualization needs
NB. Sometimes portrayed using a triangular diagram – but Maslow did not use a triangle
Abraham Maslow ( )
Humanistic psychologist, USA

6. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs contd
Often applied to all desires, but Maslow said the hierarchy applies to ‘basically important needs’, defined as follows:
Thwarting of unimportant desires produces no psychopathological results: thwarting of basically important needs does produce such results'
Hence the harm prevention concept of need
Does leisure, sport, tourism activity prevent harm?
NB: unimportant desires can be seen as wants

7. Maslow contd: Tourism/marketing (Fig. 3.1)
A different interpretation of Maslow and wants/needs
Maslow (as above)
Tourism/marketing approach
Desires
Needs:
Physiological
Safety
Affiliation
Esteem
Self-actualization
Wants:
- For various goods & services
Needs:
Physiological
Safety
Affiliation
Esteem
Self-actualization
Unimportant desires = wants

8. Needs and Tourism/marketing (Fig. 3.2)
Awareness
Needs
Wants
Satisfy
Motivation
Marketing
Suggests
Objectives
Mill and Morrison (2006)

9. Need and: Optimal Arousal and Incongruity
Iso-Ahola (US psychologist): rejects Maslow’s hierarchy, but:
Criterion for need is optimal arousal and incongruity in life, ie.:
‘too little or too much stimulation is damaging to an individual, physiologically and psychologically’
Therefore accepts harm prevention concept of need
NB similar to Csikzentmihalyi’s concept of ‘flow’

10. Need and: Leisure Satisfaction Scales
Users of leisure, sport, tourism facilities/services asked to indicate satisfaction related to aspects of the experience – eg. excitement, fitness, relaxation
LST experience assumed to have satisfied needs
So no difference between needs and wants
Level of satisfaction indicated using Likert scales
Examples of scales (all USA):
Leisure Satisfaction Scale (LSS) (Beard and Ragheb)
Paragraphs About Leisure (PAL) (Tinsley et al. )
Recreation Experience Preference (REP) scale (Driver et al.)

11. Need: Bradshaw/Mercer Typology
Expressed need
Current consumption + waiting lists etc.
Felt need
What people say they need
Comparative need
Comparing persons, groups or areas
Normative need
Determined by ‘experts’
Jonathan Bradshaw, Social policy analyst, UK
David Mercer, Geographer, Australia

12. Bradshaw/Mercer: issues
Expressed need
What people currently do – so, in fact, includes wants and needs
Felt need
Typically identified by survey: people asked what they would like to do not what they need
Again, therefore, includes wants and needs
Comparative need
Comparing persons, groups or areas – but on what criteria are used?
Normative need
Determined by ‘experts’ – but what criteria are used?
Issue:
Four types of need or four ways of measuring need?
Use in planning/policymaking:
how to reconcile/evaluate 4 different measurements of need.

13. Universal needs Maslow is ‘universal’, Bradshaw/Mercer ‘relative’
Universal approach attempts to list needs applicable to all humans:
Doyal and Gough do not include leisure
Max-Neef includes leisure
Both use ‘harm prevention’ definition of need

14. False needs Neo-Marxist concept ‘Needs’ generated by advertising, etc.
Herbert Marcuse:
.. those [needs] which are superimposed upon the individual by particular social interests in his repression: the needs which perpetuate toil, aggressiveness, misery, and injustice...
Most of the prevailing needs to relax, to have fun, to behave and consume in accordance with the advertisements, to love and hate what others love and hate, belong in this category of false needs. (Marcuse, 1964: 5)

15. Needs and Socio-economic deprivation
Relatively deprived socio-economic groups deemed to be generally in need
Often wide range of (local council) services give priority to deprived groups.
Question:
For people with low income/unemployed, poor housing, etc.: are leisure, sport etc. services a priority?

16. Need: Implications for public policy
Using harm prevention (Maslow) definition of need:
If deprivation of LST is harmful, public sector has obligations to ensure needs are met
Problem of who makes the assessment of need/harm
Leisure satisfaction scales + tourism marketing conceptualization of need:
All wants/desires are ‘needs’
No help in determining public policy on basis of need
Bradshaw/Mercer typology:
Different measurements may be useful
But: fails to distinguish between needs/wants

17. WANTS Three possibilities (a) is most logical, but complex
Needs = a sub-set of wants
Needs and wants are separate and different
Needs and wants are the same/interchangeable
(a) is most logical, but complex
(b) is simpler, so adopted in this book
(c ) often used in the literature

18. OBLIGATIONS
Not all LST activity is related to individual participant’s own needs or wants
Obligations can include:
Take children to park, pool, etc.
Accompanying partner
Social events you are required to attend
Work-related events
Family celebrations
Activities enjoyed by partner
Promises/commitments made
eg. Team/group member

19. DEMAND Economic concept
Amount of a good/service which people will purchase at various prices
= a relationship
Demand/supply theory in economics (‘Economics 101’)

20. Demand curve (Fig. 3.3)

21. Price elasticity (Fig. 3.4)
Elastic: demand responds more to price
Inelastic: demand responds less to price

22. Consumer Surplus (Fig. 3.5)
Some purchasers would have been prepared to pay more than P

23. Demand/supply interaction (Fig. 3.6)

24. Demand curve with zero price (Fig. 3.7)
Q1 = total demand at price zero
Actual provision may be :
Less (C2) – over-use/crowding/waiting lists
More (C1) – under-use

25. Researching demand/supply in leisure, sport, tourism contexts
How to establish a demand curve when price is zero or subsidized
Methods – see Chapter 11
Willingness-to-pay method
Travel cost or Clawson method

26. Modelling
Quantified models to predict demand in different circumstances
Include not just price, but also:
Consumer/participant characteristics
Supply variables, eg. In addition to prices:
Location
Transport access
Size
Quality

27. Demand: critics
‘Emphasis on price excludes zero price or subsidized services’: wrong (see, eg. Fig. 3.7)
‘Demand = free market’: wrong
‘Does not deal with unmet demand’: wrong
‘Means ‘more of the same’’: not necessarily
‘Does not reveal motivation’: but does reveal preferences
‘Ignores underprivileged’: wrong – see models
‘Ignores quality of provision’: wrong – see models

28. BENEFITS
Widely accepted principle: public provision should generate net benefits
Government statements
Alternative approaches:
Benefits Approach to Leisure
Economic approach

29. Benefits: Official statements (Box 3.3)
1996: USA: Surgeon General's Report on Physical Activity and Health Major conclusions (first 3 of 8):
People of all ages, both male and female, benefit from regular physical activity.
Significant health benefits can be obtained by :
moderate amount of physical activity on most days of the week (e.g., 30 mins brisk walking, 15 mins running, 45 mins volleyball).
Through a modest increase in daily activity, most Americans can improve their health and quality of life.
Additional health benefits can be gained through greater amounts of physical activity. (Surgeon General, 1996: 4)

30. Benefits: Official statements contd
1998: Australia: Developing an Active Australia
The health benefits of physical activity have achieved recent prominence in Australia and internationally …
Recent reports strongly emphasise the preventive health benefits gained by the accumulation of 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity on most or all days of the week. (Commonwealth Dept of Health and Family Services, 1998)

31. Benefits: Official statements contd
2002: UK: Game Plan From Chapter 2: 'Why do we Care? Benefits and the Role for Government':
Why should government invest in sport and physical activity?
Because they have a major part to play in promoting health, and, can contribute to improved educational outcomes, reduced crime and greater social inclusion:
The benefits of physical activity on health are clear, well evidenced and widely accepted. ...
.... there is some evidence that sport and physical activity can benefit education ...
The role of sport in generating a 'feelgood factor' through international sporting success also appears to be significant (if difficult to quantify) ... (DCMS/Strategy Unit, 2002: 42-43)

32. Benefits Approach to Leisure
Developed: Bev Driver & colleagues, US Forest Service
Various names:
Benefits-Based Management (BBM)
Latest: Outcomes-Focussed Management (OFM)
Based on ‘Recreation opportunity production process’ (Fig. 3.8)

33. Benefits Approach contd:
Based on data from surveys of existing visitors to natural areas + other stakeholders (Table 3.2)
Benefits assessed by Likert-scales
(similar to Leisure Satisfaction scales – see need, above)
Numerous benefits assessed:
Experiential benefits to visitors
Benefits to community residents
Other health, economic, environmental benefits
Negative outcomes (stress, crime, pollution, etc.)
Large data collection requirements
Analysis? See Chapter 7

34. Benefits: Economic approach
Cost-benefit analysis
Measures financial expenditure/income, plus:
‘Public goods’ effects (see Ch. 5)
‘Externalities’ effects (see Ch. 5)
Equity/rights effects (see Ch. 4)
Large data collection/analysis requirements
Analysis: see Chapter 12

35. PARTICIPATION
Definition: People taking part in leisure, sport, tourism activities
Policy: Governments beginning to consider participation levels as a focus for policy
Measurement: Participation can be measured in a variety of ways

36. Participation: Official statements (Box 3.4)
2002: Britain: DCMS/Strategy Unit: Game Plan
Our vision is ... to increase significantly levels of sport and physical activity, particularly among disadvantaged groups
Participation levels need to be raised for the whole population; but interventions should focus on the most economically disadvantaged groups, and within those especially on young people, women and older people
The Government's overall objective is to increase the participation levels of all people, to ensure that society generally achieves the minimum levels of physical activity necessary for maintaining health. (DCMS/ Strategy Unit, 2002)

37. Participation: Official statements (Box 3.4)
2007: Australia: NSW Department of the Arts, Sport and Recreation, Corporate Plan
Corporate Result 2: Performance measures: increases per year as follows:
1% in adult part’n in cultural activities
1% in adults attending cultural venues
1% in no. of children involved in arts and cultural activities
0.5% in part’n of Indigenous people in creative arts
1% in general part’n of adults in sport and physical activity
1% in part’n of adults in sport/active recreation 3 or more times a week
3% in part’n of children in organised sports
0.5% in part’n of adults in sport/active recreation for under-represented or disadvantaged groups
1% in part’n of women in organised sport
(NSW Department of the Arts, Sport and Recreation, 2007)

38. Measuring participation (Table 3.3)
Slightly different terminology used in leisure/sport vs tourism
Leisure/sport
Tourism
A. Participation rate
A. Visit rate
B. Market/participants
B. Trips
C. Visits (volume)
C. Visits
D. Time spent
D. Visitor-nights
E. Money spent
E. Expenditure

39. Measuring participation: Leisure/sport A (Table 3.3)
A. Leisure: Participation rate
Definition:
% of the resident population engaging in an activity;
% of the pop’n engaging at a specified level (health-related)
Example:
6% of the adult pop'n went swimming at least once a week in 2009.
40% of the adult pop'n engaged in moderate intensity physical activity for 30 mins, 4+ days/week

40. Measuring participation: Leisure/sport B (Table 3.3)
B. Market/participants
Definition:
Number of people who engage in an activity
Relationship:
A x population of C/mean grequency
Examples:
20,000 residents of Area X went swimming at least once in 2009

41. Measuring participation: Leisure/sport C (Table 3.3)
C. Visits (volume)
Definition:
The number of engagements (episode/visit/ session) in an activity in a defined (planning) area
Relationship:
B x mean frequency
Examples:
There were 1.2 million visits to swimming pools in Area X (1 million by residents) in 2009

42. Measuring participation: Leisure/sport D (Table 3.3)
D. Time spent
Definition:
Time spent on an activity/group of activities
Relationship: C x time per a. visit, b. period
Examples:
The average person spends 2.5 hours a day watching television
The average visit to Park X lasts 23 minutes

43. Measuring participation: Leisure/sport E (Table 3.3)
E. Money spent
Definition:
Money spent: total/per head/per household on a leisure activities, goods/services.
Relationship:
C x spend per visit
Example:
Consumer expenditure on leisure in Britain is £50 billion a year

44. Measuring participation: Tourism A (Table 3.3)
A. Visit rate
Definition:
The proportion of the population of a Tourist Generating Regions (TGR) that visits a Tourist Destination Region (TDR)
Example:
5% of the adult population of Region Y visited Region X in the year 2009

45. Measuring participation: Tourism B (Table 3.3)
B. Trips
Definitions:
number of departures from a TGR to a TDR
total number of arrivals in a TDR
Relationships:
A x population of Region Y by frequency of visit
Aggregate of a. across all TGRs
Examples:
100,000 tourist departures from Region Y to Region X in 2009.
1.2 million tourist arrivals in Region X in 2009.

46. Measuring participation: Tourism C (Table 3.3)
C. Visits
Definition:
Number of visits to particular attractions or destinations by tourists
Relationships: -
B x visits per trip
Examples:
50,000 tourist visits to Theme Park X in 2009.
Tourists from Region Y made 300,000 visits in Region X in 2009.

47. Measuring participation: Tourism D (Table 3.3)
D. Visitor-nights
Definition:
Number of visitors to a TDR x average length of stay in nights
Relationship:
C x length of stay (nights)
Example:
Tourists spent 3 million visitor-nights in Region X in 2009

48. Measuring participation: Tourism E (Table 3.3)
E. Expenditure
Definition:
Expenditure by tourists in a TDR
Relationship:
C x exp. per visit per head, or
D x exp. per day per visitor.
Example:
Tourists spent £50 million in Region X in 2009.

49. Other relevant concepts
Opportunities
Available facilities/services (see Box Ch. 7)
Collective consumption
Services consumed collectively, ie. by the community (Castells)
Public services
Quality-of-life
Multi-variable measurement of standard of living, health, services available, etc.
Well-being:
Multi-variable measure of standard of living etc:
Governance, income, work, health, relationships