Global Scans · Leisure · Weekly Summary

WHAT'S NEXT?: Online retailing will be one of the fastest growing channels between 2015 and 2019 as individuals do not have much time for leisure and seek convenience. Entertainment will continue to shift away from traditional broadcast media and print to reality augmented and deeply personalised content. The occupations with the largest new employment growth will be managers, professional and technical jobs, and caring and leisure occupations. Many middle-class professionals will be outsourced to machines within the next few decades leaving workers with more leisure time than they have ever experienced.

• [New] Media and entertainment is projected to grow at a 33.56% CAGR through 2031, which reflects the increasing value of subscriber-level behaviour data in streaming and digital advertising. Mordor Intelligence
• [New] Media and entertainment is projected to expand at a 38.19% CAGR through 2031, which makes it the fastest-growing end-user segment. Mordor Intelligence
• [New] Sky, which is owned by the US telecoms company Comcast, will pay £1.2bn in cash initially for ITV's media and entertainment business, which includes its free-to-air TV channels in the UK and ITVX streaming platform. The Guardian
• [New] 72.2 million Americans will travel during the Independence Day holiday period in 2026, setting another record and surpassing last year's historic total. LinkedIn
• [New] Global revenues in women's elite sports will reach US$ 3 billion for the first time in 2026. Biz Republic
• [New] Football and basketball are expected to remain as the top revenue-generating women's sports globally in 2026, with each expected to represent 35% of the total revenue. Biz Republic
• [New] Monetization through connected commerce and entertainment services will remain a key factor sustaining growth beyond 2030. Persistence Market Research
• KPMG The adoption of immersive technologies in entertainment and tourism could generate an additional 5 billion pounds in revenue by 2030 as users seek novel forms of engagement. Shaping Tomorrow
• PubMed Central (PMC) BCG covers the future of global leisure travel and forecasts it will triple in value, reaching $15 trillion by 2040. Shaping Tomorrow
• The National Law Review 72.2 million Americans will travel during the Independence Day holiday period in 2026, setting another record and surpassing last year's historic total. Shaping Tomorrow
• Summer bookings at Britain's hotels and holiday parks have jumped, compared with last year, as fears about flight cancellations and long delays at EU borders have prompted many UK holidaymakers to stay closer to home in 2026. The Guardian
• The Ministry of Tourism and Sports drives its 'Value over Volume' strategy to make Thailand a quality destination, expecting over 33.2 million foreign tourists in 2026. Tanawan Vinaisatien
• North America (US$ 1.64 billion, 54% of total) and Europe (US$ 434 million, 14%) are expected to remain the largest revenue generating markets for women's sport, with the emergence of new leagues and increased professionalization. Biz Republic
• The entertainment industry is navigating rapid disruption, consolidation, regulatory shifts, the rise of AI, and intensifying competition from global players. Business of Entertainment Summit
• The US heatwave could send electricity demand near record levels before the Fourth of July holiday. Al Jazeera
• Prime Day will land in the middle of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, creating possible upside for categories like TVs, streaming devices, fan gear, sports apparel, snacks, grocery, and home entertaining. PMG
• Fantasy Sports App Development is set to create significant opportunities in 2026 as user engagement, real-time analytics, AI-powered recommendations, and multi-sport fantasy platforms continue to grow. coherent lab llp
• Advertising continues to remain a powerhouse driving the global entertainment and media industry's revenues - and it will play an increasingly greater role as AI-powered hyper-personalization transforms engagement with end-users. PwC
• The UK has created the Fair Work Agency, a state enforcement body which has taken over national minimum wage enforcement and will also be able to enforce payment of certain statutory payments to workers, including holiday pay and sick pay. Lewis Silkin
• Global crises like the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, economic shocks and social justice movements have exposed vulnerabilities in sports' traditional models. PubMed Central (PMC)
• BCG covers the future of global leisure travel and forecasts it will triple in value, reaching $15 trillion by 2040. The Idea Farm
• The adoption of immersive technologies in entertainment and tourism could generate an additional 5 billion pounds in revenue by 2030 as users seek novel forms of engagement. Market Data Forecast
• Fantasy sports app development in 2026 has emerged as a high-growth digital opportunity driven by real-time engagement, mobile-first users, and scalable revenue models. Code Brew Labs

Last updated: 15 July 2026