Scotland's People and Nature Survey - Participation in outdoor recreation 17/18

1. Background

This summary report on participation in outdoor recreation is one of a series describing how people in Scotland use, value and enjoy the natural environment. It uses data from Scotland’s People and Nature Survey (SPANS), conducted in 2013/14 and 2017/18, and historical data from the Scottish Recreation Survey (ScRS), conducted annually between 2003 and 2012.

The research methodology used for SPANS is identical to that used for the ScRS meaning that data from both surveys are directly comparable. As the survey findings are based on interviews conducted with a representative sample of adults living in Scotland, all estimates are subject to a margin of sampling error, see SPANS Technical Report. 

2. Definitions

In SPANS and the ScRS the term ‘outdoors’ includes mountains, moorland, farmland, forests, woods, rivers, lochs and reservoirs, beaches and the coast and open spaces in towns and cities. ‘Visits to the outdoors’ refers to leisure trips taken from home or while away from home on holiday, provided the holiday was in Scotland. ‘Outdoor recreation’ is defined as any non-motorised activity carried out for leisure purposes. It can include informal everyday activities (e.g. walking the dog, family outings) as well as a range of other types of activities such as cycling, hill walking or watersports.

3. Why are outdoor visits important?

Enjoyment of the outdoors, including greenspaces in towns and cities, the countryside around urban areas and more remote and wild areas of land and water, can provide many social, environmental and economic benefits. These include better health and well-being, an improved quality of life, greater empathy with the natural world, wider use of sustainable forms of transport such as walking and cycling, and economic benefits derived from expenditure incurred by outdoor visitors. Increasing the proportion of adults visiting the outdoors at least once a week and ensuring that the benefits are shared by everyone in Scotland is a key target of the Scottish Government which measures progress via its National Performance Framework.

4. How frequently do people in Scotland visit the outdoors for recreation?

Most people in Scotland visit the outdoors for leisure and recreation with just over half visiting on a regular weekly basis.

The proportion of adults visiting the outdoors in 2017/18 (82%) is the same as the proportion reported in the 2013/14 survey; the proportion of adults visiting the outdoors on a regular weekly basis has, however, increased significantly since 2013/14 (up from 50% to 57% in 2017/18) as has the total number of visits taken (up from 396 million to 546 million in 2017/18).

5. What are the main barriers to visiting the outdoors?

In 2013/14 (this question was not included in SPANS in 2018/19) ’lack of time’ (mentioned by 36% respondents) and ‘poor health’ (mentioned by 23%) were the main reasons given by respondents who rarely or never participated in outdoor recreation. Those more likely to mention ‘lack of time’ included younger people (aged under 55), people working full-time and those with children in their household. Those more likely to mention ‘poor health’ included older people (aged 55 and over), people in the DE social grade and those who are retired or not working. Social grade is a household classification system based on the occupation of the Chief Income Earner in the household: AB - higher and intermediate managerial, administrative and professional; C1 - supervisory, clerical and junior managerial, administrative and professional; C2 - skilled manual workers; DE - semi-skilled and unskilled manual workers, casual and lowest grade workers, state pensioners and others who depend on the state for their income.

There has been relatively little variation over the last ten years or so in the proportions of respondents mentioning each of the barriers shown in Table 1, below.

Table 1: Main reasons for never or rarely visiting the outdoors for recreation 2013/14

-	All adults who never or rarely visit the outdoors for recreation	Adults who never visit	Adults who rarely visit
Reason given	%	%	%
Lack of time	36	31	42
Poor health	23	33	12
Poor weather	14	9	20
No particular reason	11	12	10
Old age	8	12	3
Not interested	5	7	2
Can’t afford it	4	2	6
Base:	833 respondents	481 respondents	352 respondents

Source: SPANS 2013/14, Question REC2

6. What motivates people to visit the outdoors?

7. What benefits do people feel they get from their outdoor visits?

8. Are some population groups more likely to visit the outdoors than others?

People’s propensity to visit the outdoors is influenced by a variety of demographic and other factors, with age, social grade, where you live, employment status, health and ethnicity all playing a role. Younger and more affluent adults along with people living in rural areas (Scottish Government Urban Rural Classification) see are more likely than average to visit the outdoors on a regular basis; those with a long-term illness or disability and those who describe their general health as ‘bad’ are less likely than average to do so; and people from minority ethnic groups are less likely than those of white ethnicity to be regular outdoor visitors.

Table 2: Visiting the outdoors by population group 2017/18

Population group	Visit the outdoors at all	Visit the outdoors at least once a week
-	% all respondents	% all respondents
All adults	82	57
Age: 34 or under	90	60
Age: 35 - 54	85	61
Age: 55 or over	73	52
Social grade: AB	92	67
Social grade: C1	87	62
Social grade: C2	82	58
Social grade: DE	68	44
Residency: Urban	81	56
Residency: Rural	87	66
Residency - SIMD: 15% most deprived areas	73	44
Residency – SIMD: Other areas	84	60
Employment status: In paid employment	90	63
Employment status: Not in paid employment	74	52
Have long-term illness or disability: Yes	63	40
Have long-term illness or disability: No	88	62
Self-reported general health: Good	88	62
Self-reported general health: Fair	73	46
Self-reported general health: Bad	47	27
Ethnic origin: White	82	58
Ethnic origin: BME (black and minority ethnicity)	84	47

Source: SPANS 2017/18 Questions CLASSIF1, CLASSIF2 and CLASSIF3 

9. Where do people go on their outdoor visits?

We know from the Scottish Recreation Survey that 95% of the outdoor visits taken by adults in Scotland start directly from home with the remainder taken while away from home, for example, while on holiday elsewhere in Scotland.

In terms of the type of environment visited, trips to the countryside account for around half of all visits to the outdoors (49%); trips made to or within urban areas account for 40% of visits; and trips to the seaside account for the remaining 11% of visits.

Over the last ten years or so the proportion of visits being made to countryside locations has declined slightly (down from 56% of all visits in 2004 to 49% in 2017/18) while the proportion of visits made in urban areas has increased (up from 30% in 2004 to 40% in 2017/18).

Table 3: Location of visits to the outdoors 2017/18

Location	No. visits	% visits
Town/city	216 million	40
Countryside	269 million	49
Seaside	61 million	11
Total	546 million	100

Base: 4,113 respondents
Source: SPANS 2017/18 Question REC5

Parks are a particularly important resource for people living in Scotland’s more deprived areas (accounting for 62% of outdoor visits taken by people living in the 15% most deprived areas of Scotland), as well as for people in the BME population (61% of outdoor visits) and people living in urban areas (52% of outdoor visits).

While there has been some year-on-year fluctuation, the relative popularity of each of the destination types shown in Figure 5 has remained fairly stable over time.

10. Outdoor visits – distance travelled, duration of visits and transport used

Most outdoor visits are relatively short, both in terms of their duration and the distance people travel to and from the destination. In 2017/18 the average distance travelled to and from the destination on visits to the outdoors was 8.4 miles.

The last ten years or so has seen an increase in the proportion of shorter duration visits and visits taken close to home, suggesting that more people are finding opportunities to enjoy the nature on their doorstep. 

The increase in the proportion of shorter duration visits being taken closer to home is reflected in an increase in the proportion of visits being made entirely on foot and a corresponding decrease in the proportion involving the use of a car. Between 2004 and 2017/18, the proportion of outdoor visits where walking was the main method of transport used increased from 50% to 69% while the proportion involving travel by car decreased from 43% to 23%.

11. The use of paths on outdoor visits

In 2013/14 (this question was not included in SPANS in 2017/18) SPANS estimated that around three quarters of outdoor visits involved the use of a path or path network (76%) and more than half involved the use of paths with signposting or waymarking (58%). The proportions of visits involving the use of paths, and specifically signposted or waymarked paths, was significantly higher in 2013/14 than in the early years of the Scottish Recreation Survey (e.g. 66% and 49% respectively in 2004).

12. Who do people visit the outdoors with?

The proportion of visits taken alone has increased over the last 10 years or so (up from 41% in 2004) and this may be linked to the increase (highlighted previously) in the proportion of shorter duration visits being taken close to home. The average party size on visits to the outdoors in 2013/14 was 2.6 people.

The proportion of visits accompanied by a dog has increased over the last 10 years or so, up from 41% in 2004 to 48% in 2013/14.

13. What do people do on outdoor visits?

14. What proportion of outdoor visitors experience access problems or witness irresponsible behaviour?

When prompted, a minority of visitors say they have experienced access problems or witnessed irresponsible behaviour on their outdoor visits (31%). Litter, vandalism or graffiti are mentioned most frequently (encountered on 18% of visits).

Table 4: Problems encountered/experienced on most recent outdoor visit 2017/18

-	% outdoor visits on which problem encountered
Any problem experienced	31
No problem experienced	69

Type of problem experienced	% outdoor visits on which problem encountered
Litter, vandalism, graffiti	18
Well used or promoted path in poorer condition than expected (e.g. wet, muddy, overgrown)	4
Well used or promoted path was difficult to use (e.g. uneven surface or gradient that caused me problems)	4
Other people behaving inconsiderately or irresponsibly (e.g. cyclists failing to consider the needs of walkers)	4
A dog annoying me or my party	3
Well used or promoted path had insufficient resting/sitting places for my needs	2
A sign that made me feel unwelcome or /unsure about what route to take (e.g. ‘Private’, No entry’, ‘Keep out’).	2
A man-made obstruction intended to prevent me from taking my planned route (e.g. locked gate on a well-used path or track, barbed wire across a stile)	2
A gate or stile which I had difficulty opening or crossing	2
I experienced another type of problem	4

Base: 1,337
Source: SPANS 2017/18 Question REC18

Further information about SPANS and other surveys commissioned by NatureScot is available on the NatureScot website. 

Published: 2018

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