re frequent participants of water sports, swimming at least 100 days out of the year.The increasing popularity of swimming can be seen in the rise of many leagues throughout North America. The official Canadian league, Swimming/Natation Canada, is the governing body of competitive swimming. The league is comprised of 50,000 competitive swimmers, in more than 350 clubs. It also has over 75,000 recreational swimmers as members.Gender and Age ConsiderationsAs females represent a larger proportion of participation in water sports; swimsuit manufacturers have provided them with a wider selection of suits than those available to their male counterparts. Throughout North America, female participation in swimming activities varies greatly according to age.In 1999, women between the ages of 35 and 44 represented the largest percentage of swimmersGirls between the ages of 7 and 11 followed this group closely.TourismThe tourism industry has been experiencing rapid changes throughout the past two decades. Vacationers have more destinations to choose from and are planning vacations with more frequency and variation.As of 1998, only 11% of adults preferred to relax at home while on vacation.27% wanted to relax away from home44% wanted to get away and do many things.These vacationers increasingly prefer to take 2 or 3 shorter vacations to different destinations rather than one long vacation. Instead of choosing between a weekend in the mountains or one at the beach, they will do both. This translates into higher expenditures on accessories for each trip experience; swimwear for beaches, skis for mountain regions, camera lenses for eco-tourism, etc. Since travel is closely related to peoples disposable income, a prolonged downturn in the economy could cause North Americans to take fewer, shorter trips, and spend less. However, according to new projections from the Travel Industry Association of America, travel expenditures should continue to grow ...
