Conceptualizing Leisure, Recreation and Tourism from an Anthropological Perspective

Leisure and recreation are some things that we all experience, whether rich or poor, civilized or not. But how should leisure, recreation, and tourism be conceptualized? This paper will explore the concept of leisure and recreation in different societies, specifically comparing the experience of tribal ones with that of the latter-day leisure societies, and discuss why an accent on leisure and recreation is required to fully understand where we stand in this globalizing world. From this emerges a comparison of leisure and recreation in simple and complex societies that is less frequently taught in academic departments of tourism. Teaching leisure and tourism from an anthropological perspective should, therefore, be a critical issue for the 21st Century. The paper concludes that the concepts of leisure and tourism need to be taught with a greater accent on the 'when', 'where', 'what' and 'how', rather than on the 'why', to be able to build a viable theory in this area of social science.