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Going out!

Original title: Eropuit!

The amount of free time that the Dutch have at their disposal is shrinking: they had more than three hours less leisure time per week in 2005 than in 1975. Despite this, the number of hours that people spend outside the home for recreational purposes has remained unchanged over the last 30 years. This report describes the way in which the Dutch spend their leisure time outside the home. It covers a diversity of leisure activities, such as museum visits, shopping, enjoying a drink in a pavement cafe, taking part in sport, going to the sauna, spending a day at the zoo or engaging in open-air recreation.

The report explores the variation between different groups in Dutch society in the frequency with which they leave the home for leisure activities. It describes how people's leisure repertoires differ depending on their phase of life. It also provides an insight into the number and type of people with whom the Dutch spend their leisure time outside the home. Finally, it looks at leisure mobility, including the distances that people travel for leisure activities and the mode of transport they use.

Desirée Verbeek studied Leisure Studies at Tilburg University. She obtained a doctorate in 2009 with a research project on the sustainable development of tourism mobility. She currently works in the Time, Media and Culture research group at the Netherlands Institute for Social Research/SCP.

Jos de Haan is head of the Time, Media and Culture research group at SCP. He is also professor occupying an endowed chair in ICT, Culture and Knowledge Society at Erasmus University Rotterdam.