Since Mintel last reported on the leisure sector in August 2003, the UK leisure industry has sustained impressive levels of growth. Britons have increasing levels of disposable income to spend on discretionary items and borrowings increase as interest rates remain stable. As the UK increasingly becomes a cash-rich society, leisure products offered as ‘experience packages’ are attracting more interest. More short breaks are now being taken at home and abroad in addition to annual long holidays, and more visitors are coming into the UK contributing significantly to leisure expenditure figures.

About the market:

Since Mintel last reported on the leisure sector in August 2003, the UK leisure industry has sustained impressive levels of growth. Britons have increasing levels of disposable income to spend on discretionary items and borrowings increase as interest rates remain stable. As the UK increasingly becomes a cash-rich society, leisure products offered as ‘experience packages’ are attracting more interest. More short breaks are now being taken at home and abroad in addition to annual long holidays, and more visitors are coming into the UK contributing significantly to leisure expenditure figures.

The industry faces various threats and challenges however, as it continues to expand. These include rising costs associated with a changing regulatory framework and staff recruitment/training, increasing competition for the leisure pound and competition from in-home leisure activities. The number of admissions at nightclubs fell by 1% between 1999 and 2004, while tenpin bowling has been on an increase during the same time period but is now also showing a slowdown in growth.

About Mintel’s research:

Drawing together the latest market size and trend data, along with the most telling findings from research into consumer leisure habits, Mintel’s report provides a vital assessment of the major factors set to restrict or generate growth in the UK’s leisure markets. Mintel’s research offers you a unique overview of the front-of-mind issues and dynamics of all the major industry sectors, including

Cinema

Nightclubs

Pubs and bars

Health and fitness

Concerts and the arts

Bingo

Tenpin bowling

“Days out”

Use Mintel to monitor and adapt to changing consumer leisure behaviour, establish fresh target groups for advanced and focused marketing campaigns, understand sector supply structures and measure growth potential in the leisure industry.

Intriguing findings:

The cinema sector is buoyant with admissions rising by 2.4% to 171 million in 2004, and box office takings up by 5% on the previous year.

Five billion day visits were taken in 2004 at a market value of £71 billion.