More active leisure activities come at a price.
Also in 1983: More money for leisure time

Last year, there were apparently significant changes in the "leisure budget" of German citizens. This is the conclusion reached by the BAT Leisure Research Institute after analyzing the latest figures compiled by the Federal Statistical Office for the "4-person employee household with average income" in 1983. According to these figures, this statistical household spent 5,259 marks on leisure activities in 1983 – 117 marks more than in the previous year.

The changes within the leisure market were far more significant than this growth rate suggests. The sports and camping sector alone saw an increase of 37.7 percent, making it the "leisure winner" of 1983, closely followed by the gardening and pet sector, which grew by more than 12 percent. Hamburg leisure researchers attribute the fact that the average four-person household spent 128 marks more on sports in 1983 than in the previous year, in part, to the widespread popularity of aerobics, stretching, and bodybuilding. "The trend toward active recreation continues," according to the BAT Leisure Research Institute. The focus is on finding nature "right on your doorstep," on nearby gardens and green spaces, and on physical activity and exercise.

Besides the photo and film sector (-17.3% %) and DIY (-12.1% %), vacations, still the largest expenditure category, also suffered losses (-6.5% %). However, the fact that over 8% more was spent on leisure car use suggests that short trips and weekend getaways compensated for this "vacation deficit".

The fact that, despite declining real incomes and rising unemployment, leisure spending by German citizens continued to increase in 1983 leads leisure researchers to assume that, with the anticipated reduction in weekly and lifetime working hours, the economic factor of leisure will grow even more rapidly. "The leisure time that is so 'precious' to German citizens will lead to fierce competition between the various consumer sectors," the Hamburg-based leisure experts state in their latest analysis.

Despite declining real incomes and rising unemployment, Germans' spending on leisure activities is increasing. In 1983, a four-person working-class household with a middle income spent 5,259 marks on leisure, hobbies, and vacations – 2.3 percent more than in 1982. However, there were significant shifts within the leisure budget. Sports and camping showed the largest increases, rising by 37.7 percent (128 marks more than the previous year), followed by spending on gardening supplies and pets, as well as leisure car use. Although vacation spending decreased in 1983, it remained by far the largest expenditure item within the leisure budget, at 1,383 marks.