Key Idea: Topic 11.1 is about how, and how much, people take part in leisure, sport and tourism — and how those patterns are changing. It pulls together two ideas: 11.1.1 — participation in leisure and sport: who takes part, how much, and in what — and why it is so uneven. Participation depends on affluence, lifecycle, gender, health, culture and place: you need both free time AND the money, facilities and acceptance to take part. 11.1.2 — tourism growth and trends: how international tourism has grown from ~25 million trips in 1950 to over a billion arrivals a year — fast but unevenly — and why the numbers keep changing (cheaper flights, rising incomes, social media, shocks). This is an Option E topic, examined on Paper 1 — you answer the options you have studied (SL answers 2, HL answers 3, same questions). Each option = a short data-response read off a figure, a structured question (Explain/Suggest), and a [10] extended-answer essay (Examine / To what extent / Evaluate).
🏅 11.1.1 — Participation in leisure and sport
Leisure is the free time left after work, study and chores; sport is one kind of active leisure. Participation is very uneven — it needs both free time to take part AND the money, facilities and acceptance to actually do it. The skill examiners test is reading a participation figure (a stacked-bar or triangular graph) accurately, then explaining why participation varies between rich and poor, men and women, young and old, and country to country.
[Diagram: geo-bar-chart]
Tip: For a participation graph, read it accurately first — quote a value with its units, or for a share take part / total x 100. Then explain a gap with a named factor and its mechanism: low income -> cannot afford fees and kit -> takes part less. A named example (Title IX, London 2012, Norway) earns the top of the mark.
✈️ 11.1.2 — Tourism growth and trends
Tourism is travel away from home for leisure, recreation or business, staying at least one night. International tourism has grown enormously — but unevenly, so a few hotspots take a huge share of visitors while many places get few. The Paper 1 skill is reading trends off a table or graph: the range (highest - lowest) and median (middle value) of a ranked table, and a rise or the steepest interval of a line graph — then suggesting why the numbers changed.
Example: Dubai grew from a small Gulf port into a hotspot with 15+ million visitors a year — an airline hub (Emirates), tax-free shopping, the Burj Khalifa and heavy marketing (engineered growth). Venice and the Lake District show growth hitting carrying capacity — crowding, erosion and resident pushback (Venice now charges day-trippers). London 2012 shows a mega-event lifting numbers and profile in a single year.
Tip: Range = highest minus lowest — find the top and bottom rows and subtract. Median = the middle value; in a ranked list of 9 it is the 5th (with an even count, average the two middle ones). On a line graph, subtract the two years to find a rise, and the steepest segment is the fastest growth.
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Exam Tips
- Option E is on PAPER 1 — answer only the options you studied (SL does 2, HL does 3); each ends in a [10] extended-answer essay.
- Participation needs TIME and ACCESS (money, facilities, acceptance) — explain a factor by its mechanism, not just by naming it.
- Read data precisely: quote the value WITH units, or take part/total x 100 for a share.
- Tourism stats: range = highest - lowest; median = the middle of the ranked list; the steepest line segment = fastest growth.
- Anchor every answer to a NAMED example — participation (Norway, Title IX, London 2012) and tourism (Dubai, Venice, the Lake District).
- On the [10] essay, weigh BOTH sides (economic vs social/cultural) and finish with an explicit, justified judgement — one-sided answers cap mid-band.