Abstract:

Leisure researchers have examined and identified various types of leisure, some of which include indoor and outdoor, active and passive, physical and intellectual, cultural and sportive, or serious and casual types of leisure. Most previous researches concerning types of leisure pursuits have focused dominantly on serious and casual leisure. The serious and casual leisure perspective has a rich history of ethnographic studies for more than 30 years. This concept emerged from the work of Robert Stebbins (1982) and he defined serious leisure as “the systematic pursuit of an amateur, hobbyist, or volunteer activity sufficiently substantial and interesting in nature for the participant to find a career there in the acquisition and expression of a combination of its special skills and knowledge”. Casual leisure was defined as “immediately, intrinsically rewarding, relatively short-lived pleasurable activity requiring little or no special training to enjoy it” by Stebbins (1997). However, little or no contributions or evaluation have been made in Turkey about serious and casual leisure concept. Therefore, to advance current knowledge, it was aimed to provide a practical definition and discuss the characteristic and qualities of serious and casual leisure perspective.

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