Thematic Tracks Description
SIG Thematic Tracks
Please note that the topics of the World Leisure Organization Special Interest Groups (WLO SIGs) are already present in the programme as thematic tracks:
Chair: Carolin Lusby, Ph.D., Florida International University, USA
This topic aims to showcase the latest developments in the industry, including regenerative, slow, and blended forms of travel and work. We encourage proposals that highlight sustainable solutions, emphasizing benefits to the environment, workers, and local communities.
Chair: Atara Sivan, Hong Kong Baptist University, and Tony (A.J) Veal, University of Technology Sydney
The SIG on Leisure and Human Rights seeks to promote research and teaching on the topic of leisure, human rights, and social justice, based on the principles set out in the WLO Charter for Leisure. The SIG aims to enhance the profile of leisure rights among governments, leisure policymakers, practitioners, and researchers and within the UN human rights system. It encourages research papers on disciplinary aspects of leisure rights such as Education, Public Policy, Philosophy and Sociology as well as on practices that infringe the rights of a group to fair treatment and access in leisure settings.
Chair: Atara Sivan, Ph.D., Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, and Prof. Marie Young, University of the Western Cape, South Africa
The SIG on Leisure Education seeks to promote research, teaching, and evidence-based practices in leisure education on a global scale. It aims to increase awareness and understanding of the importance of leisure education, recognizing its significant impact on individuals’ well-being and quality of life and to foster collaboration and networking among scholars who share a passion for advancing leisure education. We welcome researchers, academics, practitioners, and professionals from various disciplines to share their academic and professional work exploring diverse aspects of leisure education, including but not limited to theoretical frameworks, innovative pedagogies and models, program development and evaluation, and the role of leisure education in different settings and cultural contexts.
Chair: Lisa Mische-Lawson, PhD, CTRS, The University of Kansas Medical Center, USA, and Nicole Peel, PhD, Western Sydney University, Australia
The World Leisure Organization is committed to ensuring that all members of the community, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, or ability, have access to beneficial leisure facilities and services. Our Diversity, Access and Inclusion Special Interest Group provides a forum for professionals to gain knowledge and support to advocate inclusion of underserved populations in leisure pursuits. At the upcoming World Leisure Congress 2025, we will highlight the many ways leisure professionals are actively engaging diverse and marginalized communities. This includes but is not limited to individuals with disabilities, individuals living in poverty, LBGTQ+ populations and individuals marginalized due to race and/or ethnicity, etc. We encourage our members to share their innovative approaches for navigating the barriers and ensuring accessible and inclusive leisure for all.
Chair: Heather Gibson, Ph.D., University of Florida, USA
This session provides an environment where contemporary research on gender and leisure can be presented. A discussant will address the similarities/differences across the session papers. The session will incorporate sport, events, hospitality, and recreation under the broad umbrella of ‘leisure’. It is based on a recognition of the fluidity and diversity of gender, and the contested and geographically specific nature of this.
Chair: Dr. John R Tower, Ph.D., Victoria University, Australia, and Dr. Jo An Zimmermann, Ph.D., Texas State University, USA
The WLO Congress Leisure Management stream calls for leisure scholars and professionals to share research and best practice explanations about leisure management topics. These topics include planning, delivery, management & control, quality, performance management, accountability, partnerships, equity, inclusion, diversity, competencies, resource management, experience management, human resources and any topic related the management of leisure programs, facilities and services. The presentations are expected to share research and best practice examples about leisure management issues that will be of interest to our industry.
Chair: Oksana Grybovych, EdD., University of Iowa, USA
Community development around the world has been used to address a broad range of challenges – from climate change to peace building, from economic development to human rights. And times and times again, communities have innovated, collaborated, and demonstrated the power of authentic and meaningful community change – driven by collective impact, leadership, forward looking policy, resilience, and sustainability. We are looking for stories of success and failure, persistence, resilience, collaboration and innovation – from community developers, planners, public administrators and others involved in practice and policy making in the realm of community development. Stories of collaboration on initiatives, activities, and projects for greater impact in communities. Now more than ever we need to learn from each’s experiences strategies to address the challenges of our time, engage others in discussion, promote collaborative decision-making, and develop a sense of community.
Chair: Douglas Kleiber, Ph.D. University of Georgia, USA, and Begum Aybar-Damali, PhD., Winona State University in Winona, Wisconsin, USA
Leisure and Aging, to include, but not limited to, the following themes: coping with disability and illness in later life; games and other nonphysical leisure activities in later life; the influence of gender and other diversifying factors on leisure experience in later life; grandparenting and intergenerational leisure; leisure, aging and mental health; retirement and leisure; adventure, sports and physical activity in later life; technology, digital communications and media influences; travel and tourism in later life; volunteerism in later life. The purpose and content of the session: to advance understanding of leisure and ageing in a changing world and how leisure experience of older people might be enhanced.
Chair: Cari E. Autry, Ph.D., CTRS, East Carolina University, USA, and Dr. Makhaya Malema, University of the Western Cape, South Africa.
This session will explore the role of leisure in the lives of children and youth, addressing themes such as: integrating leisure into educational frameworks; the role of play in social and cognitive development; the impact of socioeconomic factors on access to leisure; family dynamics and shared leisure activities; mental health benefits of leisure activities; transitioning from structured to self-directed leisure; sports and physical activities for the young; digital and media engagement; travel and cultural exposure; and volunteerism among young people. The aim is to deepen our understanding of how leisure activities can contribute to the development of children and youth in our rapidly evolving society. By sharing research findings, discussing policy implications, and showcasing innovative practices, this session seeks to enhance the leisure experiences and outcomes for young individuals globally.
Chairs: Teresa Freire, PhD, Universidade do Minho, Portugal, Hélene Carbonneau, PhD, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Canada, and Maria Alexandra D’Araújo, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Portugal
Leisure is considered one of the main sources of individual and social well-being. In the past two decades, the science of well-being has grown creating great and new opportunities for understanding how societies and individuals, can organize and experience worthy lives. Leisure encompasses individual, social and environmental components of peoples’ lives integrating pleasure and a sense of meaning in life, thus incrementing subjective and psychological well-being. Following an ecological perspective that matches person-environment features, leisure becomes a core scientific-based intervention tool making possible: i) the creation of new opportunities to develop and improve positive pathways, ii) the transformation of negative pathways, by promoting agency, empowerment, resilience, human development, creating and shaping individuals or societies’ well-being, along with a psycho-social-ecological approach. Leisure makes possible the articulation between people, contexts, activities, behaviors, places, environments, and cultures, contributing to “peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future” (United Nations). These aspects become the main purpose for this SIG’s action worldwide.
Chair: Prof. Ling Ping, Hangzhou Normal University, China
This session invites contributions on Leisure and Sports, focusing on the role of leisure sports globally. This track seeks to explore the integration of leisure sports with significant global events like the Paris Olympics and the European Cup, particularly their role in promoting urban economic development worldwide. Abstracts are encouraged on topics including water sports, mountain and outdoor sports, ice and snow sports, alongside the management, marketing, and development of sports events and clubs. This track offers a platform for discussing innovative strategies that enhance the economic and social landscapes of cities around the world through leisure sports.
Chair: Márta Wilhelm, PhD. University of Pécs, Hungary
This session will explore the dynamic interface between leisure and innovation, focusing on a broad range of themes including technological advancements in leisure, innovative leisure management practices, sustainability, the influence of digital media on leisure trends, and the future of leisure infrastructures. We encourage submissions from researchers, practitioners, and innovators across all sectors who are engaging with cutting-edge ideas that are shaping the leisure landscape.
Chairs: Dr Willem Coetzee, Lecturer, Western Sydney University, Australia & Dr Alba Colombo, Professor, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Spain & Dr Trudie Walters, Senior Lecturer, Te Whare Wānaka o Aoraki/Lincoln University in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Events are well aligned with WLO’s beliefs that leisure can improve quality of life for all, and that leisure is integral to social, cultural, economic and environmental development. Critical event studies scholars draw from a rich vein of theoretical perspectives to demonstrate how and why this is the case. This SIG will create a global network of experts, academics, and practitioners interested in discussing the importance of events in the field of leisure, along with their effects, challenges, and contemporary potential. It will position the WLO as a reference point for the events sector, serving both as a theoretical and reflective entity and as a practical one, applying these concepts through its own events.
New Selected Thematic Tracks
Additionally, new tracks have been included this year, reflecting the valuable proposals submitted during the programme development process.
This session examines the concept of deviant leisure, defined as leisure practices that diverge from societal norms while carrying significant meaning for participants. These activities, including extreme sports, radical body modifications, subcultural rituals, and nightlife practices, challenge traditional ideas of “acceptable” leisure and provoke critical discussions on their influence in shaping identity, culture, and power dynamicsץ
Moving beyond perspectives that frame deviant leisure solely through the lens of pathology or criminality, this session highlights its deeper social, cultural, and psychological dimensions. Deviant leisure reflects the tensions inherent in consumer capitalism, offering individuals a means to seek autonomy, belonging, and personal fulfillment. Paradoxically, these same practices often resist mainstream norms while being commodified by the systems they critique, as seen in examples like extreme tourism or underground music scenesץ
This track also explores the broader societal implications of deviant leisure, examining its potential to foster creativity, community, and resilience, while acknowledging the risks of harm, exclusion, or exploitation. Key questions include: How do deviant leisure practices challenge or reinforce societal values? In what ways do these activities intersect with issues of mental health, inequality, or environmental sustainability?
Scholars, practitioners, and policymakers are invited to critically assess the boundaries between legitimate and illegitimate leisure, and to explore deviant leisure as both a reflection of and a challenge to prevailing cultural norms. Through reframing deviant leisure as a legitimate and complex aspect of human behavior, this session aims to broaden our understanding of leisure’s capacity to drive personal growth, social change, and cultural innovation.
The purpose of the Customer Experience Management (CEM) in Leisure track at the World Leisure Congress 2025 is to equip professionals in the leisure industry with the knowledge and tools needed to create exceptional customer experiences. This track aims to:
(1) Enhance Understanding of CEM Principles: Provide a comprehensive understanding of the key principles and practices of customer experience management, specifically tailored to the leisure industry.
(2) Optimize Customer Touchpoints: Explore strategies for identifying, optimizing, and managing various customer touchpoints to ensure a seamless and high-quality experience from start to finish.
(3) Leverage Data and Feedback: Demonstrate how to effectively use data analytics and customer feedback to gain insights into customer behavior and preferences, driving continuous improvement and personalization of leisure experiences.
(4) Integrate Technology: Highlight the role of emerging technologies in enhancing customer experiences, including the use of mobile apps, AR/VR, and AI, to create immersive and interactive leisure activities.
(5) Empower Staff: Discuss best practices for training and empowering staff to deliver exceptional customer service, ensuring that frontline employees are equipped to meet and exceed customer expectations.
(6) Showcase Success Stories: Present real-world case studies and success stories from leading leisure brands, offering practical examples and inspiration for implementing effective CEM strategies.
(7) Foster Industry Collaboration: Encourage collaboration and knowledge sharing among industry professionals, fostering a community dedicated to advancing customer experience management in the leisure sector.
By focusing on these objectives, the CEM in Leisure track aims to enhance the overall quality and consistency of customer experiences in the leisure industry, ultimately leading to increased customer satisfaction, loyalty, and business success.
This panel aims to explore the nature of leisure to be promoted and the quality to be developed, far from any commodification or commercial massification driven by utilitarian knowledge.
Participants will be asked to reflect on leisure from the standpoint of citizenship and conviviality, and to put in place an anti-utilitarian form of knowledge that promotes a quality of living together that respects differences, ensures accessibility and offers enriching diversity.
What are the possible futures that are conceivable once freed from the confines and limitations of our current conceptions of leisure-related industry, institutions, and spaces? This proposed thematic track faims to embrace the critical, radical, and even revolutionary action that has produced a reclamation of urban space (public and private space), as well as the identities linked to that project of reclamation: guerrilla gardens, squatting, encampments, the okupas, free spaces, the temporary autonomous zones (TAZ), the quilombos, and the commune. In that embrace, what is emphasized here are the ways that such projects reconceive of space (and the production of space), some of which are formal leisure spaces (public parks, plazas, squares, and abandoned malls), to create new spaces for new forms of governance, relationships between new imaginations of citizenry, and sites of “new” recreation.
Social Prescribing is a holistic approach to individual health and well being which strengthens connections between health care systems and community services and brings together the social and medical models of health and wellness. It emphasizes health in community through leisure engagement and access to resources that support social issues. The premise that health is not just in a hospital but in community embodies the social determinants of health framework. Once it is determined that an individual is experiencing with non medical symptoms, a primary care provider or other identifier can ask, “What Matter to You?” thus creating a co-production treatment plan and model of care. It provides a formal pathway for health providers to address the diverse determinants of health, using the familiar and trusted process of writing a prescription.
Social prescribing bridges the gap between clinical and social care by referring patients to local, non-clinical services that are chosen according to the client’s interests, goals, and gifts. It allows doctors, nurse practitioners, and interprofessional health providers to formally refer patients through to community-based programs. It empowers clients to improve their health by developing new skills, participating in meaningful activities, and becoming more connected to their communities.
Social prescriptions may relate to exercise, art, books, volunteering, housing, social or cultural groups, recreation, or other opportunities that suit the patient’s needs and interests. As this practice is expanding globally and originating in the UK, a growing body of evidence supports its positive influence on mental and physical health and other psychosocial outcomes such as community connection, social engagement, self-esteem, social support, and patient empowerment.
“Nature and Leisure” can cover various topics related to nature and leisure participation. All scholars who want to present about people enjoying leisure activities in nature can apply to this topic. For example, various discussions are possible about outdoor recreation participation, the social psychological benefits of people who enjoy leisure in nature, and leisure participants interested in environmentally friendly attitudes and behaviors.
The quality of romantic and family relationships is one of the most important determinants of physical, mental, and social health, and plays a significant role in the initiation, development, and recurrence of mental and social disorders. Quality leisure could help while not all the effects and mechanisms are known. In this thematic track, we explore the interplay between leisure and romantic relationships, addressing topics such as:
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- The role of leisure in initiation and growth of romantic relationships
- The impact of leisure on relationship quality and life
- The influence of leisure on cognitive, emotional, and behavioral impaired functioning of relationships
- Differentiating various leisure activities and their relationship outcomes
- Communication and conflict resolution during and after shared leisure experiences
- Compatibility, support, and actor-receiver effects
- Values and goals in shared leisure experiences
- Cultural differences in leisure and relationship practices
- The impact of technology on shared leisure and relationship dynamics
- Personality factors and attachment styles in leisure experiences and relationship outcomes
- Randomized clinical trials aimed at enhancing relationship satisfaction through leisure
- Physiological synchrony in couples during shared leisure activities
- Gender dynamics in shared experiences
- Work-leisure blend in dual-earner households
By sharing innovative practices and new research findings, this session aims to broaden our understanding of how leisure activities and romantic relationships interact to enhance the quality of romantic relationships.
Human eating behavior is directly linked to the social functions of leisure through different rituals of sharing meals. Whether at home or outside, eating has always played an undeniably important role in bringing people together worldwide. However, as stated by Goldstein (2018), so much effort has been put on the discussion of the culinary side of gastronomy – or the ‘What of Eating’, as opposed to the ‘How of Eating’. That is, stressing mainly subjects related to the food on our plates, how it got there, and what it does to us. As a leisure phenomenon though, the role of eating goes far beyond that mere nutrition aspect. Of greater importance to this field is to understand how the acts of sharing food can help construct self-other relationships and/or group interactions. Therefore, eating has become more than just a matter of nourishing our bodies, as it also strengthens our emotional bonds, promoting coexistence and stimulating intercultural dialogue between individuals and societies.
Leisure and urban life have historically been interconnected, both being highly responsive to social, technological, and economic transformations. In today’s context, where urban life is shaped by constant flows of people, artifacts, and information, it is crucial to critically examine how these transformations shape diverse leisure experiences and, conversely, how various forms of leisure reconfigure urban life as we know it.
In this regard, recent decades have seen the emergence of practices that challenge traditional concepts of leisure and call for new conceptual approaches to understand urban transformations. Likewise, the adoption of digital technologies has introduced new space-time conceptions. The temporal boundaries that once organized social life are now disrupted, and the urban space—a continuum between the physical and the virtual (if this distinction still applies)—expands the boundaries of what we understand as cities.
Amidst these hybrid forms of experiencing leisure and inhabiting the city, this track aims to bring together diverse contributions that critically explore the mutual influence between the urban and leisure spheres. We hope to gather perspectives that will help to renew current understandings of the interaction between these two vital dimensions of human life.
During the last ten years, measurement capabilities and application in leisure studies have evolved, with an increase in physiological measures available to measure the dynamic range of guests’ experiences, beyond self-report. Physiological measures such as electrodermal activities, cardiovascular activity, facial expression, eye-tracking, and location-tracking (Lin et al., 2024) and immersion neuroscience software (Melton et al., 2024) are being used to objectively understand a participant’s experience. These methodologies complement traditional surveys and interviews by providing in-situ measurement and sometimes without disrupting the flow of the experience. Such measurement can better capture a guest’s attention to stimuli, emotional arousal, and variations in arousal, attention, or engagement during an experience.
However, these measures have limitations. Context must be considered when interpreting emotional arousal and engagement. The devices themselves can change the participant experience or be triggered by other stimuli, so careful data cleaning and analysis are necessary. The technology may not capture the subjective meaning of emotions participants feel during an experience, nor the memories they make after, so these technique must be considered as additions to data collection, not standalone measures.
Despite this, the opportunity to better understand emotions in experiences is a novel and key piece to improve experience offerings to guests.
This track invites sessions that report use of, lessons learned, results of, and questions for future research using physiological measures in leisure studies.
After a successful session at the World Leisure Congress in 2023 in New Zealand, with various works presented by researchers from several countries in the Global South, it is proposed that the session be offered again to include studies related to the regions of Latin America, Asia, and Africa. The aim is to discuss topics of significant interest to the academic community, particularly those located in Global South countries, such as reducing access inequalities, knowledge decolonization processes, language barriers, among others.
Over the past two decades, the ability and enthusiasm of people to experience novel and adventurous leisure activities in the Arctic and Antarctic has proliferated. These regions are often seen as remote and have long been explored by tourists, scientific expeditions (whose members enjoy leisure time), and outdoor enthusiasts, as well as residents. As of late, however, the polar regions are latching on to and even exceeding the general growth in leisure demand world-wide and visitors to these regions exhibit much more enthusiasm to go, which is met with a burgeoning suite of service offerings. Just as access to the regions has become increasingly more open due to climate change; the media has also pushed the image of these circumpolar spaces/places for leisure and adventure pursuits.
Academia has been aware of this growth, and thus there is rapidly growing interest in understanding and researching issues of tourism and leisure growth and diversification in and around the poles. This thematic track will provide a platform for this research to be shared and reflected upon. This thematic track is an open call for students, emerging scholars and established researchers who work on leisure-related or adjacent projects, from both ends of the Earth. Sessions are welcome in a variety of session types.
We invite scholars who have incorporated the ideas of philosophers into their research on leisure, tourism, and events (LTE) to submit abstracts for an engaging session on Philosophical Perspectives. This session will explore how foundational philosophical frameworks enhance our understanding of these fields, fostering a deeper look at themes such as ethics, identity, power, freedom, and space. This session aims to bring together researchers who utilize philosophical thought to critically examine and challenge current practices in Leisure Tourism and Event management. We encourage submissions that connect the works of influential philosophers to contemporary issues and emerging trends in these fields. We welcome abstracts from all philosophically based schools of thought, but a special word of welcome to abstracts that draw on Indigenous Philosophy. Other disciplines are also encouraged to submit, as long as the abstract and presentation contain a clear philosophical component related to leisure, tourism and events.
Marine and coastal spaces must face the challenges of global change, emphasizing the vulnerability of coastal tourist destinations to the impacts of climate change and the regression of the coastline, among other things. It is essential to seek the balance of tourism growth with the protection of such environment and the well-being of local communities, exploring practices and strategies that promote responsible and sustainable blue tourism.
In contemporary society, leisure is not merely a backdrop for growth, fun, and relaxation; it serves as a dynamic arena where sexual desire, sexual behaviors, and sexual identities are both expressed and shaped—but also punished, politicized, and weaponized in a variety of ways. This session seeks to delve into the intricate relationships between leisure and normative and non-normative ways of behaving, being, and becoming sexual, arguing that understanding this nexus is essential to expanding broader understandings and more positive sexual societal dynamics.