After creating a post on the history of outdoor recreation based on the book “Recreation & Leisure in Modern Society”, I’m thinking to write a blog which is related to the development of the outdoor recreation.
In this blog, we are going to discuss the aspects which lead to the development of outdoor recreation. These include psychology, economy and impact of COVID 19.
But, I feel like I want to try something different. Maybe I try to write a short story in this blog to convey the messages.
Story
Part 1
“Andy, are you ok? Are you having some issues lately? And anything I could help with?” The lady asked.
“I’m alright.” I replied to the tall, athletic, tanned and blonde lady. The lady named Susan, tried to smile and care about what was happening to me recently.
After a brief moment, I hesitated but spoke again.
“Actually, not quite. I have some issues lately,”
“My girlfriend and I quarreled yesterday night. She said I didn’t care about her. Maybe she is right, as I put my work before her. And, right now I feel like I couldn’t even perform well at my job.”
Susan didn’t say anything. She just listened. She overheard the conversation between our boss and me a few days ago, saying that our boss was disappointed in my performance lately.
“I understand.” She said, finally. “Well, since I couldn’t really help you, why don’t you join me for a day hike this Saturday? You’ll definitely love it or at least you’ll feel better.”
After thinking for a moment, I smiled and replied “Sure thing, why not?”
Part 2
On Saturday morning, OMG! I looked like a total disaster!
I met Susan and her hiking buddies. They all wore so well equipped. Guess what did I wear? A white T-shirt, with a laptop bag, and sandals. – I felt so embarrassed!
They seem unbothered though. Greeting me with smiling faces and I could sense their positive energy. They were really friendly.
Both Susan and Terry, the muscular and average-height hiking leader, dismissed my embarrassment and said they were happy that I joined them. They would take care of me because they understood that I was an absolute beginner here.
We started our day hike without wasting much time.
“Ah, I should work out more!” I said with excessive sweating and gasping for air, feeling that I was on the verge of blackout, while ascending.
“Haha, no worries, you are considered fit for a beginner.” Susan replied without any sign of exhaustion. That is why she is the only friend of mine in the office. Who doesn’t like a cheerful and positive minded person?
“Yeah, Susan is right” Said Terry and the rest of the team mates.
“Thanks, let’s continue!” I replied, deeply motivated by them.
Part 3
“Wowww, I really love this! The air is so cool; the cloud is beneath our feet, awesome!” I said this to Susan while sitting on the edge of the cliff, trying to breathe deeply.
“I know, right? This is why I loveeeeee hiking” She turned to me and said. “Don’t you feel your soul is cleansed and your stress would just go away automatically?
Yes, I agree. Even this was just my first hiking experience.
She took out her smartphone and shared with me her photos while hiking in Mount Fuji, Mount Jade and Annapurna Base Camp. I was totally amazed!
“We have a bucket list and our next hike would be Inca Trail to Machu Picchu.” She said with a big smile while looking at her phone.
And then she looked at me and said “And, I hope you enjoy this hike and would join us for the coming Inca Trail hike. Oh, we will be glad if Samantha can join us, too.”
Apart from being my best colleague, she is also the BFF of my girlfriend, Samantha. She tried to ask Samantha to join her for hiking, but Samantha never agreed. So, I guessed Susan wanted me to persuade Samantha? LOL!
Part 4
“Oh wow, these pictures are freaking nice. Looks like you have a great time with Susan and her team!” Samantha, an average-height lady with fair skin and black hair, happily said this to me.
I smiled. Then, I continued to share Susan’s and my hiking experience to her. It worked! I could see Samantha is interested in joining the next hike! – How clever you are, Susan!
I wouldn’t let the embarrassment happen again. The next day, both of us went to a retail shop to buy proper hiking gear and equipment.
Finally, we looked like “hikers”! And, we literally joined every hiking session with Susan and her team. From this moment, both Samantha and I finally had a mutual interest, and we could be talking non-stop about hiking, and we were super excited in creating our own hiking bucket list!
Our relationship was improving. In fact, her friendship with Susan was improving more than ours. Well, sometimes, I couldn’t really understand the “lady’s language”. *shrugged*
Part 5
Year 2020 was an unfortunate year to us. Starting from March, we stayed home and worked from home because of the pandemic, COVID 19.
“I feel like I couldn’t take this anymore, I’m going nuts!” Samantha said while pulling her hair with her fingers, and her eyes turned teary.
“Babe, it’s alright. This is the only thing we can do right now.” I soothed her while caressing her head and kissing her forehead.
Unwillingly, we had no choice but to continue to stay home in this global lockdown. We couldn’t go out nor go travelling. Mostly importantly, we couldn’t go hiking!
Nonetheless, we still had contact with Susan, why NOT? She is Samantha’s BFF; she is my best colleague. We always had Zoom calls with each other to release our frustration.
We always reminisced about our hiking moment and we were both excited and upset while talking about our coming Inca Trail hike. Anyway, thanks to Susan for being a good listener and spreading positive energy to us during this difficult period of time!
“Andy, look at this! I think we could buy this and use this for our next hike!” said Samantha, while surfing the internet.
“Yeah, good idea!” I replied.
Thereafter, I noticed Samantha really loved online shopping nowadays. Not only on hiking gears, but also other consumer products. – Luckily, she knew how to control her spending.
Meanwhile, I looked at the sky and wondered when the pandemic is going to end. – I really miss going out. I really miss the nature. I really miss hiking………..
1. Psychology
Andy faced issues in his relationship and career. Susan then suggested him to go hiking with her. Although those issues couldn’t be solved immediately, Andy did realize he got an instant relief just after he reached the peak of the mountain. Moreover, his relationship with his girlfriend got improved.
It looks like we have an affinity with the nature.
Or, close your eyes for a moment. Imagine yourself being at the beach, hearing the sound of the waves and feeling the wind; imagine yourself hearing the sound of the thunder and the raindrops. – How do you feel?
I believe you can immediately feel a sudden relief and calm and even can feel your own breathing deepen. – That is the power of nature!
Look at our life in city. We are rushing time, deadline, having meeting, partying, etc. All these are very stimulant.
No doubt we could see more and more people are involving in outdoor recreational activities. Because we give ourselves a break to recover and recharge when we are out of work and definitely a break from the city life!
A study has shown that a 2-hour in green area and nature can bring positive impact to our physical and mental health.
Agree or not? – Let’s test it by yourself by making this a habit and see if there is any improvement.
2. Economy
Outdoor recreation is one of the sectors in contributing the growth of economy. Here, you can see chain reaction impact: a single choice of a consumer impacts the economy.
Contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
Andy and Samantha, as beginners to hiking, went to retail shop to buy relevant hiking gears. Also, Susan, Terry and the team members had proper hiking gears and equipment. These suggest that they are willing to spend on the items for their interest.
Imagine this scenario in a grand-scale, where those hikers, cyclists, kayakers, rock climbers, runners, etc are willing to spend on the items. This creates huge demand in outdoor recreational products and it creates business opportunities for the companies to produce more.
Then, it creates job opportunities. The employees have more income and then they are able to spend more on the items that they like. – Just like a “snowball” effect.
Well, look around. More and more people want to de-stress and to be healthier. We could see a steady growth in the outdoor recreation sector globally.
For example, the US has recorded 2.1% (USD 459.8 billion) of the GDP for year 2019 based on Bureau of Economic Analysis; Europe has recorded €5.82 billion (increase of 0.5% in value and 2.3% in volume compared to last year) in the outdoor wholesale market in 2019, based on State of Trade / European Outdoor Group.
Tourism for outdoor recreation
Susan told Andy that they went to hike Annapurna Base Camp, Mount Fuji and Mount Jade, and their next hike would be Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. Thereafter, Susan and Andy would like to join the hike and they would also create their own bucket list.
This suggests that they have contributed and will contribute to the growth in the tourism sector. They would buy specific hiking equipment; they need to hire hiking guides, they need to plan their travelling and accommodation, etc.
I am pretty you like travelling as well, don’t you? – Who doesn’t like that?
You’ll plan itinerary before you go for a trip. – Transportation, accommodation, food, places to visit.
Well, same goes to tourism for outdoor recreation. In fact, adventure tourism is booming because of the great potential opportunity for the revenue of the countries.
And, you would note that it is not surprising to observe the governments promote adventure tourism.
Adventure tourism generally means a tourism which involves certain level of risk to explore in taking part of challenging outdoor activities. Some commons form of adventure tourism are backpacking, camping, hiking, and cycling.
A research shows that the global adventure tourism market was valued at USD 586.3 billion in 2018.
Also, as the awareness of protecting the environment increases, ecotourism is booming as well – defined by The International Ecotourism Society: responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment, sustains the well-being of the local people, and involves interpretation and education.
You’d notice there might have certain level of damages to the nature for adventure tourism, but because of the increase of awareness of the environmental protection, I believe adventure tourism and ecotourism will eventually unify.
3. COVID 19 impact on outdoor recreation industry
Global lockdown. This affected all the people, including Samantha, Susan and Andy. They were really frustrated for the need of staying home. Samantha showed mood swing as well. On the other hand, Samantha adapted to the online shopping due to the lockdown.
Right now, we are still in the midst of fighting against this pandemic. We wouldn’t know when the pandemic is going to end. People are getting more and more stressful and anxious because of the uncertainty.
In respect of the above, a study shows that staying inside for too long can cause the following symptoms
- Anxiety
- Sleep problem
- Fatigue
- Change in appetite
- Poor immune system
But, a coin has two sides. It is undeniable that global lockdown had greatly impacted the employment and the economy. Surprisingly, global lockdown also brings some positive impact to the environment and us!
Look at sky. – No airplanes, blue sky, birds are flying. The sky is extraordinarily clear!
And, read the news. The air pollution got reduced.
Seems like our Mother Earth is taking this chance to recover herself, hmmmm……
On the other hand, although we cut our spending, the e-commerce is booming! – This makes a lot of business switch their business model.
Same goes to the purchase for outdoor recreation product, as shown by Samantha. In fact, the latest results show that the annual sales for outdoor recreation products increased due to e-commerce and traditional retail after the ease of lockdown.
Seems like we are preparing for our vengeance to go out and enjoy the nature once the war is over! – After all, human being is still nature-oriented, aren’t we?
Final thought: Importance of Outdoor Recreation
Human beings are quite adaptive. We learned hunting skills for survival. We developed civilisations and then the survival skills were evolved to become sports and recreational purposes.
As a “child” of the Mother Earth, no matter how urbanized we are, we are still “attached” to our Mother.
A growth in the outdoor recreation sector is not just an indication that we enjoy outdoor recreational activities, but it shows the attachment between us and our Mother, regardless of we are happy, clam, stressed or depressed.
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