The role of & significance of the
outdoor economy for delivering
growth & jobs
Professor Neil Ravenscroft
School of Environment & Technology
Overview
•Background
•Significance of the outdoor economy
• The associative economy
•Case study: the outdoor economy of a village in Sussex
•Discussion and conclusions
Background
•Tourism destinations
•Neoclassical economics
and the multiplier
•Learning the lessons for
smaller destinations
•Making local economic
impact work
Significance of the outdoor
economy
• No clear definition of the outdoor economy
• Synonymous with outdoor recreation
economy (USA), or the ‘environment’ (Wales)?
• Lots of claims about the demand for outdoor
recreation:
– Little overall increase in the UK in the last 20 yrs
– Shift from travel to local activity
– Growth of capital intensive activities
Trends
The associative economy
• “associative economics places human beings at the centre of all economic
processes. Our capacity to be both free and responsible means we can
make conscious what is otherwise left to the unseen working of market
forces. Likewise, we can regulate our own behaviour without recourse to
the state”
• From competitive national economies to the inherent dynamics of a single
global (and thus local) economy
The associative economy
Joint consumption trends
Clustering: the Blue Gym
• The Blue Gym and Families
• “A safe, natural environment can be a break from our busy lives – a place
to get some fresh air, to exercise or play ...”
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Interested in spending time in a natural environment with your children?
Find out more through following one of the following links for ideas of ways to spend time
with your children outdoors:
Natural England: Getting outdoors with children
BBC: Things to do in nature in your area
Play England: ‘Love Outdoor Play’
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds: ‘Every child outdoors’
National Trust: ‘50 things to do before you are 11 ¾’
RNLI: Beach Finder App
Cornwall Wildlife Trust: 101 things to do in Cornwall on a rainy day
Case study: Forest Row
Local foods and festivals
Conclusions