Leisure, Happiness and Development: A Global Perspective

Abstract

The importance of leisure industries in Europe was and is still today a well-known aspect. Leisure is connected with fun and personal development. That's why the main task of progress is creating an easier, friendlier environment for human development; one in which people can have external and internal inputs.Leisure industry in Europe is looking for new methods which attract more and more people to use leisure institutions, equipment and/or programs. The strongest platforms are the recreation business and tourism which attracted 456 million individuals (UNWTO, 2010) in 2009 to the continent.Historically, the goal of leisure development was to first demonstrate the power of emperors, and later the results of technical development. Huge luxurious buildings were built. Attractive art and new types of entertainment have changed the lifestyle of citizens.In innovation technology, there are two directions: how can leisure providers develop existing leisure offers, and what kind of new technologies are needed to reach a higher level of quality of life.In our study, we used figures, statistics and graphs, disseminated in recent years, which reveal some complementary aspects relating to leisure economy. We collected data and analyzed successful and heavily visited tourism attractions across Europe like the Eiffel Tower, the British Parliament, and the Zoo in Berlin as well as events with the most spectators (sport competitions, festivals). We analyzed the trends of how industry reacted to the changing lifestyle of European citizens, what kind of products they brought on the market, and how many new jobs were created in the leisure industry.