The social, cultural and economic significance of leisure is increasing around the world. Watching television, reading, socializing with friends and family, playing sport, attending entertainment, arts and sporting events, and visiting the coast, the countryside, historic sites, museums, galleries and exhibitions are of modern life, and important aspects providing for these activities is an increasingly significant feature of modern economies. In most developed countries nationwide surveys are conducted periodically to assess levels of participation in leisure activities. This text brings together the results of such different countries, surveys from thirteen namely: Australia, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Spain and the USA. While the surveys vary enormously in scope, methodology, scale and timing, making it difficult to compare leisure patterns directly, they nevertheless indicate some marked similarities in leisure participation in industrial societies in the "global village".
This text provides a reference source on patterns of leisure participation in the thirteen countries, and also examines the methodological problems of conducting national leisure participation surveys, and their future prospects. It should be useful for research workers, lecturers, advanced students and practitioners in leisure studies.
