LAUSR

The catalyst for the production ofWorld Leisure Journal’s (WLJ)LeisureManagement (LM) Special Issue came out of the LeisureManagement Commission’s conversations at the 2014 WLO Congress in Mobile Alabama. There were about six colleagues who shared ideas and updated each other about the leisure management issues that we wanted/needed to address through the activities of the LM Commission. It was clear to us at the time that there was scope to include more about leisure management in future WLO Congress programmes and to contribute more to WLJ’s content. The task of producing the LM Special Edition was embraced by Jo An and John to help provide a focus for the LM Commission and to address a perceived gap in some of the scholarly leisure literature. The call for papers for the LM Special Edition was released in late 2015 so it is particularly rewarding to see the outcome of that initiative with five articles from around the world that address issues about leisure management. Tower and Zimmermann (2016) set the context for the special edition by inviting submissions about scholarly and empirical contributions, systematic reviews and reports that would further the understanding of how leisure management improves communities’ quality of life. Our analysis identified limited publications in scholarly leisure journals that focused on leisure management and there was even less focus on community/non-profit and government services (except parks) where much of the community leisure programmes are delivered. There was a need to provide more insights about community leisure programmes, services and facilities to assist in service provision (Tower & Zimmermann, 2016). Leisure management is about delivering the services that meet the leisure needs of individuals and communities. If leisure managers do their jobs effectively, then the communities around the globe will have better opportunities to increase their quality of life. This LM Special Edition delivers articles that explain how leisure managers are addressing communities’ leisure needs.