Eating out is more popular than ever, driven forward by high employment levels, the rising numbers of dual-income households, and the immense variety of restaurants of all types, ranging from steak houses and Asian restaurants, to fast-food chains and pizza outlets. The dominance of independent restaurant owners — branded chains are the exception in this market — has done nothing to hold back market growth.

Allied to the eating out market, public houses are surviving as a concept by adapting to younger drinkers, to the demands of the more affluent (bar prices have risen fast), and by serving more meals and providing entertainment as an alternative to the traditional, male-dominated 'session drinking'. 'New blood' has flooded into the industry as brewers have diversified, leaving much of the market to innovative 'pub companies'.

Regarding in-home leisure, it is DIY and gardening that represent the largest chunk of consumer spending. Householders are increasingly likely to eat a number of their meals outside the home, and are ready to enjoy their time at home, but the DIY and gardening hobbies also represent investment in properties. (House prices have been rising for many years, and continue to climb in 2001.) A comfortable, attractive home and garden is increasingly the venue for bringing friends and relatives together, rather than the traditional pub or restaurant gathering.

The media are fragmented, with consumer spending spread across reading (books, newspapers and magazines), viewing (TVs, channel subscriptions and videos) and listening (recordings and radio). The multichannel digital era is taking its time to become a mass market. Meanwhile, home computing (the Internet and playing video games) has become an absorbent activity for much of people's leisure time at home.

For entertainment outside the home, cinemas and theatres are important but their audiences are biased to certain population segments: teenagers and young adults for cinemas, and affluent professionals (plus foreign tourists) for theatres.

Gambling is a crucial leisure market for several reasons including its role as a social hub for many people, whether it be syndicates for the National Lottery or the football pools, or joining bingo clubs or casinos. Moreover, the National Lottery is significant because it has helped to fund many leisure-related projects since its inception in 1994, including many tourist attractions.

Gambling is also closely related to the development of sporting activities. Apart from the Lottery, the most lucrative attraction in gambling is betting on horse or greyhound races, or on football matches. Football dominates spectator sport to an increasing extent (both live and on TV), but in sports participation, the trend away from organised team sports continues, with more and more people preferring to keep fit individually by joining a health club or using a public gym or swimming pool. In commercial terms, golf is by far the most important leisure pastime of a sporting nature.