Study carried out by Sport and Recreation Alliance, with participation of The Camping and Caravanning Club, shows the benefits of “reconomics”
Britain has become something of a sedentary nation, but organisations like the Sport and Recreation Alliance and The Camping and Caravanning Club are seeking to combat this.
A report, titled Reconomics, was published by the Alliance and reveals much about the British psyche. It reveals that three in four adults regularly get active outdoors. It shows that people who enjoy outdoor recreation spent £21 billion in 2012/13, and walking tourism alone supports up to 246,000 full time equivalent jobs.
The report draws on The Camping and Caravanning Club Real Richness study from 2011, in which academics from Liverpool John Moores University found that 85% of adult campers think camping can make you healthier, 84% say it improves mental health, 78% say it makes you fitter and nearly half think it should be prescribed on the NHS.
The Reconomics report calls for government to give outdoor recreation more support, and for a minister for the countryside to be appointed. It is backed by Chief Scout Bear Grylls, who is an honorary Vice President of The Camping and Caravanning Club.
Grylls said: “This report lays out the wide range of benefits of getting active outdoors both for the individual and for society. But if we are to maximise these benefits we need politicians to get on board too.
“Let’s have a long-term plan for how we get more people active outside and, if we have a minister for cities, why can’t we have one for the countryside and all the activities that take place there too? That can only be a positive step for our nation.”
The Camping and Caravanning Club added its voice to the call for Government to take action.
Director General, Robert Louden MBE, said: “For so many of our members, camping, caravanning and outdoor recreation is a not just a hobby, it’s a way of life. We would wholly support a long term strategy for outdoor recreation, with a Minister responsible for delivering this.”
The benefits of outdoor activity such as camping and caravanning are overwhelming, for mental and physical wellbeing, and for the economy. After all, how can the government ignore calls for its support for outdoor recreation when the estimated cost of physical inactivity is £10 billion per year.
