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ecreation centre
Within a resort, a recreation centre is a
complex of sport, health, entertainment and social
activity spaces for guests �see also sport, recreational;
sports tourism). Common facilities are
swimming pools, spas, exercise equipment and
multi-purpose rooms. Many communities have
recreation centres that are used by both residents
and tourists, and in these cases issues of differential
user fees, preferential bookings, conflicting activities
and overcrowding can arise.
See also: community recreation; resort
DONALD GETZ, CANADA
recreation education see education, recreation
recreation experience
A recreation experience is a type of human
experience which is based on the realisation of
intrinsically motivating, voluntary engagements
during non-obligated times. This is more than just
participating in recreational activities such as
camping, since the importance of the term comes
from reward or benefits of participation in the
activity.
The intrinsic benefits result from specific outcomes
as a result of the experience, such as an
enhanced understanding of nature, a greater
appreciation for the job of the park ranger and
a greater development of outdoor skills. While an
engagement in a recreation activity is important to
establishing the conditions for the recreation
experience to happen, it does not guarantee it,
because intrinsic benefit must also be gained.
Classifying experiences that offer recreational
meaning and value is somewhat difficult, but one
meaningful method includes sports and games,
hobbies, music, outdoor recreation, mental
and literary recreation, social recreation, arts and
crafts, dance and drama. Identifying and measuring
recreation experiences focus on the individual
and their perception of the satisfaction which
the experience has produced. There are two major
ways of identifying response to specific phenom-
enon. One is to observe the person's behaviour,
and the other is to get the person to describe
verbally what they did and how they felt about it.
Which strategy is best depends on the nature of
the activity, but because evaluation of the experience
depends on the participant being able to
describe the experience and the feelings produced
by it, some method of asking for a description
verbally �that is, through an interview) usually
yields the best results. Participant observation is less
likely to be successful because much of what is said
about the activity would have to be inferred by the
observer from facial expressions, mannerisms and
so on, and these are not nearly as reliable. Once
the different recreation experiences have been
evaluated, then it is possible to measure the
importance of these experiences in terms of
monetary worth, their psychological value or their
intellectual worth.
See also: expectation
Further reading
Brown, P.J. �1983) `Defining the recreation experience',
R.D. Rowe and L.G. Chestnut �eds), in
Managing Air Quality and Scenic Resources at National
Parks and Wilderness Areas, Boulder, CO: Westview
Press.
Driver, B.L. and Tocher, S.R. �1970) `Toward a
behavioural interpretation of recreational engagements,
with implications for planning', in
B.L. Driver �ed.), Elements of Outdoor Recreation and
Planning, Ann Arbor, MI: University Microfilms.
recreation manager
recreation manager 491
CAROLYN M. DAUGHERTY, USA
The recreation manager is the individual responsible
for the management of an organisation or
section for the provision of recreation experience.
Roles at executive level primarily include decision
making and leadership through application of
diverse administrative and management concepts
�corporate strategies, management accounting,
marketing, performance indicators,
strategic planning, total quality management and