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White Hutchinson Leisure & Learning Group, Kansas City, MO, USA

Heightened competition for leisure time and dollars

Indications are that the era of post-Covid leisure splurging from the pandemic's pent-up demand has ended, and the leisure market may become more competitive. There has been a ten-point drop in those active Americans who strongly agree that they have more leisure time than a year ago.

Additionally, there has been a return to normalcy in leisure activities' ability to deliver on pre-Covid expectations and recollections (people are no longer wowed when returning to them).

We're also seeing a net 9% decline in people participating in social activities, which includes visiting location-based leisure venues for a social experience.

A new Harris survey with NerdWallet suggests that some people may be fueling their 2024 New Year's resolutions with financial regrets of 2023. Two-thirds of Americans (67%) have financial regrets for 2023. Second only to not saving enough for financial goals, nearly one-quarter of Americans regret overspending on entertainment.

The bottom line is that leisure and entertainment experiences that might have been very attractive and perceived as affordable a year or so ago during the post-Covid surge era when many people had more leisure time and savings accumulated during the pandemic are no longer as attractive. This means the leisure and entertainment marketplace will be more competitive in the months ahead. Location-based entertainment venues will need to step up their game to stay competitive.

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