Description
This indicator measures the proportion of adults making one or more visits to the outdoors per week.
Source
The figures for this indicator come from the Scottish Household Survey (SHS) which is a National Statistics product produced by the Scottish Government. The data are published in the Scottish Household Survey Annual Report, which is published annually via https://www.gov.scot/collections/scottish-household-survey-publications/#2022annualreport.
The participants in the survey are asked how often they have visited the outdoors for leisure and recreation during the last 12 months. The indicator is the percentage of those who responded with frequencies of at least once per week, based on the number responding to the question throughout the year.
For 2020 and 2021, data was collected by telephone and video as Covid-19 restrictions were in place at that time. For 2022 face-to-face interviewing was resumed. This change to methodology means that 2020 and 2021 figures are not comparable with other years and so are excluded from the time series.
Prior to 2013 the figures for this indicator came from the Scottish Recreation Survey (ScRS). Data was provided from questions included in a consumer omnibus survey (Scottish Opinion Survey) run by TNS under a contract to Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH). The wording and response option were the same in both surveys, making the results broadly comparable. 2012 was the last year that the ScRS was run. In 2012 figures were provided from both surveys, which returned the same result.
Definitions
Adults are people resident in Scotland aged 16 and over.
Outdoors is defined as "open spaces in the countryside as well as in towns and cities such as woodland, parks, farmland, paths, beaches etc".
Visits are defined using the following wording. "Trips could either have been from home or while you were away from home on holiday, provided the holiday was in Scotland. They might include everyday activities like walking the dog as well as other activities like mountain biking or kayaking."
Criteria for Change
This evaluation is based on:
- Any change between 2019 and 2022 which is not statistically significant suggests that the position is more likely to be maintaining than showing any change.
- An increase which is statistically significant suggests the position is improving.
- A decrease which is statistically significant suggests the position is worsening.
Future issues or reviews
For 2019 and earlier years the following criteria was used:
- Any change within +/- 2 per cent of last year's figure suggests that the position is more likely to be maintaining than showing any change.
- An increase of 2 per cent or more suggests the position is improving.
- A decrease of 2 per cent or more suggests the position is worsening.
It is expected that these criteria will be used again when 2023 data are available.