An overview of the recreation, leisure goods and services sector

The recreation and leisure sector comprises a wide range of business activities, covering both goods and services. Goods include games, toys and sporting equipment, while services include activities from sports coaching to video game design.The UK market in this sector is well developed and growing strongly. Rising levels of disposable income and leisure expenditure in Western Europe and North America have created an increasing number of export opportunities for UK firms. The emergence of the middle classes in India, China, Russia and South East Asia has created a demand for high-end products and luxury goods.

There is some overlap with other business areas, particularly in the creative and media industries sector. The creative sector produces 8.2 per cent of Gross Domestic Profit (GDP) and its industry is growing twice as fast as the UK economy, at an average of 5 per cent a year between 1997 and 2004. Exports are growing even faster, averaging 11 per cent, and the sector now contributes 4.3 per cent of the UK's overseas sales (source: UK Trade & Investment, 2007). See our guide on the The sector has a good ability to deliver employment, attract revenue from abroad and drive domestic development. These circumstances have created the opportunity for UK companies in this sector to compete around the world.

The sector covers a wide spectrum of goods and services. There are export opportunities in:tourism consultancy,leisure, sports and play equipment,the garden sector,equestrianism,theme park and visitor attractionsThe multi-billion-dollar crafts market in the US remains particularly strong. However, high technology is increasingly important, with a wealth of new content channels and entertainment media competing for consumers' interest.


International trade in the sectorOverall, the UK imports more recreation and leisure goods and services than it exports. However, there's a sharp difference between the trade balance for goods and the balance for services.The combined exports of sporting goods, musical instruments, games and toys was £803 million in 2005. Imports of the same categories of goods were £6.6 billion in the same year.