Development and management of outdoor recreation: The case of Quebec

Abstract

Outdoor recreation is at the heart of several policies and measures with their goal being to reinforce the level of individuals’ physical activity as well as the development of communities. This is even truer in Quebec where the provincial government recently published (2017) an important note regarding the importance of outdoor recreation in the development of Quebec society. In this perspective, this study, using a quantitative approach through a survey, aims to analyze how outdoor recreation is managed and supported by the Regional County Municipalities (RCM), key actors in the territorial and social development in Quebec, and, to identify the terms and conditions for the practice of these outdoor activities in the RCMs. This study shows that there is no gap between supply and demand. However, the results reveal the importance of supporting and subsidizing promoters and outdoor organizations in Quebec while breaking into segments the pool of practitioners in order to put in place targeted communication and promotion strategies while also promoting the use of new technological information.