Outdoor recreation is the UK’s favourite pastime. Our Reconomics report found that last year 42.4 million adults in England visited the natural environment generating a visitor spend of £27 billion.
When people get active outdoors it creates jobs and reduces the burden on the health service. Outdoor education is also a crucial part of children’s learning.
But despite the huge value of the outdoors, there is no joined-up approach and leadership from Government on outdoor recreation in England.
So we’re calling on Government to produce a long-term strategy for outdoor recreation.
In October 2015, Minister for Sport Tracey Crouch MP responded to a Westminster Hall debate on the economic value of outdoor recreation.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport tasked the Alliance and the Outdoor Industries Association to gather the views of the sector on what could be included in a national outdoor recreation strategy. We asked members and stakeholders, and considered existing lobbying material.
We submitted a package of reports to DCMS calling for outdoor recreation to be given the recognition it deserves:
• Alliance / OIA national outdoor strategy recommendations full report
• Alliance / OIA national outdoor strategy recommendations summary
• Summary of evidence submitted as part of our online survey
• Sheffield Hallam University review of existing strategies
The Alliance also works on the areas tabbed below: