The leisure sector of developed economies continues to grow rapidly, this expansion building on existing forms of leisure economy to introduce entirely new enterprises, products and markets. Britain, the first industrial nation, is no exception, and business across a range of leisure sectors is now a highly significant part of the nation's economic life. And yet, this sector is relatively poorly served in terms of its history despite the fact that Britain gave the world many of its sports and leisure activities. What were the patterns of business in the leisure sector? Who were the key entrepreneurs? And how have markets developed?


Fusing economic, business, social and cultural history, this book will provide the first comprehensive business history of leisure, encompassing sports, tourism, music, the arts and hobbies, amongst others. It will track the progress of entrepreneurs, enterprises and markets as they have evolved, and highlight processes of overlap and merging between sectors and businesses. This book combines a wide-ranging and thoughtful history of the leisure industry with rigorous business and economic analysis, and offers a unique overview of this industry's development in Britain.