Leisure faces up to the global Financial Crisis

The meltdown in global financial markets and plunging equity markets have led to predictions that as domestic budgets will decrease as part of a collective 'belt tightening', spending on leisure will also decrease.
However, as Karen Sweaney, Editor of Australasian Leisure Management writes in the latest issue of the magazine, spending on leisure is no longer discretionary spending, rather, Sweaney writes, âin some ways leisure is recession-proof, with spending on activities such as fitness, recreation and sport now being seen as essentials within individual and family budgets.�?
Sweaney goes on to refer to âhow the market is changing ⦠at the Dreamworld and WhiteWater World parks on the Gold Coast where, despite an increase in attendance in the last financial year, owners the Macquarie Leisure Trust have reported a fall in profits.�?
âIn the last issue (of Australasian Leisure Management) I suggested that as international tourism declines, Australians and New Zealanders will choose to take domestic holidays and visit domestic attractions.�?
Greg Shaw, Chief Executive of the Macquarie Leisure Trust concurs with this view being reported in The Australian as stating "visitor figures over the recent school holidays have been steady. Our theme parks are affordable and we remain pretty positive.
"If and when the global financial crisis starts affecting jobs, and unemployment levels rise in Australia, then families would start to cut back.
"However, the tumbling Australian dollar would help us in the long run, as fewer Australians would go on overseas holidays, and stay at home instead. This means they would take their families on domestic breaks, including visits to Dreamworld."
Sweaney also highlights that âwhile economic commentators suggest that consumer spending on fitness will go down, expansion and differentiation in fitness club brands actually means that the market is growing, as more of the population spends on the increasingly diverse range of commercial fitness products.�?
One leisure industry project that has been questioned as a result of the global financial turmoil and rising building costs is the planned $50 million extensions to the Adelaide Entertainment Centre (AEC).
According The Adelaide Advertiser, although the project has been classified as âhigh-riskâ by the South Australian Government, it will continue.
The Adelaide Advertiser reported that âthe high-risk assessment is revealed in a Government submission on the project to Parliament's Public Works Committee.�?
South Australian Premier Mike Rann announced the $50 million revamp in June. It includes a new 2,500-person venue for smaller concerts, a large glass dome at the entrance and expanded patron service areas.
The newspaper went on report the Governmentâs view that âthe AEC building is in need of reinvestment if Adelaide is to remain a significant player on the national touring scene.
"Without reinvestment, SA will experience an increase in the number of concerts and events bypassing Adelaide."