20 Jan 2015

Is the tide turning on the UK tourism boom?

by Kurt Janson

Over the last four years the tourism industry has been at the forefront of the UK’s economic recovery. It has generated a third of all additional jobs in the country, provided a boost to export earnings and helped maintain regional economies. [more...]

20 Jan 2015

Confidence improves but fragility remains

by Peter Ducker

For the UK hotel market, at least, the recession is fast receding. The latest performance data shows average increases in RevPAR of 20 per cent across the UK, with our 12 largest cities recording growth for what was the fourth consecutive quarter. [more...]

05 Jan 2015

A new call to action

by Kate Cracknell

Young or old, disabled or able-bodied, fit or unfit, the brief is clear: we should all be active on a daily basis. This is the unambiguous and very welcome message from Public Health England (PHE) in Everybody Active, Every Day – its recently published national framework designed to combat inactivity. Hear, hear PHE. In their bold simplicity, the four words ‘everybody active, every day’ become more than just the name of the framework – they become a rallying cry for the fitness sector as a whole. [more...]

16 Dec 2014

School sport - could try harder

by Liz Terry

In my mid-teens I went to a new school which turned out to have a tradition of playing tricks on new students. Within a couple of days of starting, someone dropped into a conversation that there were mixed showers after PE. [more...]

13 Nov 2014

Being socially useful

by Kate Cracknell

Has your organisation recognised the value of being genuinely useful to its community – not settling for ‘doing good by helping people get healthy’, but actually putting community interests at the heart of the business? [more...]

11 Nov 2014

International water safety event sees worldwide growth

by Aleatha Ezra

According to the Royal Life Saving Society (RLSS) UK, "accidental drowning causes around 400 UK deaths every year, the equivalent of one person drowning every 20 hours. Thousands more suffer near drowning experiences, some resulting in life changing injuries. Drowning is still the third highest cause of accidental death in children in the UK." [more...]

11 Nov 2014

Access for all

by Liz Terry

In Attractions Management 2014 issue 4 we ask our panel of experts how attractions can better cater for people with disabilities – how they can engage with them and enable them to enjoy the enhanced quality of life that comes from great days out with friends and family (see page 28). [more...]

05 Nov 2014

Wellness surge breaks the Catch 22

by Liz Terry

As more consumers turn to a wellness lifestyle, spas in urban hotels in the US are enjoying the benefits of increased volume, with profits up significantly, according to a new report from PKFC – Trends® in the Hotel Spa Industry. [more...]

06 Oct 2014

Embracing active design

by Kate Cracknell

People should be active every day, with opportunities to do so designed into the very fabric of our environments and our daily lives. That was the clear message of last month’s inspirational Active by Design Summit, organised by the UK’s Design Council. So how might this look in practice, and what does it mean for health club operators? [more...]

30 Sep 2014

Women (and girls) in sport

by Liz Terry

In the latest issue of Sports Management we focus on women in sport, with a cover celebrating the amazing Jo Pavey and her inspiring gold medal performance in the 10,000m at the European Athletics Championships in Zurich. She powered to the title aged 40 –the oldest competitor ever to win in Europe – and only a year after giving birth to her second child. It was lump in the throat stuff. [more...]

24 Sep 2014

Peace

by Liz Terry

The cover of the latest issue of Leisure Management shows Kate Middleton planting a poppy in the moat of the Tower of London, as part of an art installation called Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red, which commemorates the 100th anniversary of the end of World War 1. [more...]

28 Aug 2014

Media irresponsibility

by Kate Cracknell

Going to the gym can make you fat – that’s what the UK’s media would have us believe. [more...]

11 Aug 2014

Here comes China

by Liz Terry

Speaking at the opening of the recent IAAPA Asian Attractions Expo in Beijing, Paul Noland, president and CEO of IAAPA, said the Chinese market is the fastest growing in the world, with at least 59 theme parks under development, probably more. [more...]

01 Aug 2014

Obesity responsibility

by Kate Cracknell

How should we define obesity – is it a disease, a disability or a lifestyle condition? And why does the definition matter? [more...]

01 Aug 2014

Is it time to raise capture rates?

by Katie Barnes

Key studies in our Research Round-up section show that it’s been another positive year for the global spa sector. Revenues and profits are up and spas are considered an important part of the burgeoning wellness tourism movement (see p96). Our Development Pipeline on p26 shows that many new, exciting projects are underway too. With an increasing interest in spas once more, is now the time to address the capture rate issue? [more...]

18 Jul 2014

Trailblazing

by Liz Terry

In Leisure Management 2014 issue 3, we celebrate the disruptors – innovators who are coming into the leisure industry with new ideas which are innovative enough to bring about radical change in the way things are done in their sector – whether it be spa, health and fitness, sport or hospitality. [more...]