6th Annual International Conference on Social Sciences, 29-31 July & 1 August 2019, Athens, Greece | |||
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| 1 | 1 August 2019 | “The Business of Leisure” Stream Leader: Ken Roberts, Academic Member, ATINER & Professor Emeritus of Sociology, School of Sociology and Social Policy, University of Liverpool, UK. During the second half of the 20th century, leisure provisions by profit-seeking businesses grew more rapidly than either their voluntary or public sector partners or competitors. Tourism alone became one of the world’s largest industries. Broadcasting in Europe switched dramatically from being basically public service to mainly commercial. During the 21st century this trend has accelerated in some countries under government austerity policies. Remaining public and voluntary sector providers operate in increasingly commercial environments and act as if they were profit-seeking businesses. FIFA and the IOC are high profile examples. Contributions are sought from economics, geography, sociology, history, sport and tourism studies. These may be case studies, explorations of the causes and/or outcomes of commercialisation for the overall character of the free time offer, and the socio-demographic composition of audiences, consumers and participants, and/or the wider socio-political implications. | Abstract Submitting Form |
