Global Scans · Leisure · Weekly Summary

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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] In 2026, travelers are expected to prioritize leisure over business. Travel And Tour World
• [New] Just as importantly, Benin embraces innovation and recognises the economic and diplomatic potential of sports as a driver of global engagement. Forbes
• [New] The Eastleigh Voice spent time on the ground to explore how cricket, often perceived as a niche sport in Kenya, is transforming children's lives through discipline, opportunity, and character-building. The Eastleigh Voice
• [New] In 2025, Long Island Rail Road will have holiday lights trains. Yahoo News
• [New] Holiday travelers in the United States avoiding widespread disruptive weather ahead of Thanksgiving might not be so fortunate during their post-holiday journeys. CNN
• [New] Shoppers can expect new daily deal drops and deep discounts, up to 50% off Amazon devices, artificial Christmas trees, electronics, kitchen appliances, premium beauty, and holiday decor. NBC Chicago
• [New] China will deepen exchanges in education, sports, youth, media, and subnational cooperation, and continue to provide assistance for Tonga's economic and social development within the framework of South-South cooperation. chinadailyhk
• [New] Missouri will become the 29th U.S. state where DraftKings offers sports wagering, in addition to Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and Ontario, Canada. Covers.com
• [New] Accenture's annual Holiday Shopping Survey of more than 7,500 shoppers in 10 countries, conducted online between August and September in 2025, indicated that 77% will shop on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. WWD
• [New] As 2026 draws near, Europe's holiday activities are turning into more individualised and sustainable experiences and will become more immersive as well. Travel And Tour World
• [New] The booming sports industry has established new opportunities for future-oriented technologies such as smart stadiums, crowd sentiment analysis, and eSports in North America. Knowledge Sourcing Intelligence (KSI)
• [New] The organization forecasts holiday sales will grow between 3.7% and 4.2% above last year's holiday season and will exceed $1 trillion in sales for the first time. NACS Daily
• [New] Nearly 187 million people are expected to shop over Thanksgiving weekend and holiday sales will hit $1 trillion for the first time. NACS Daily
• [New] 6 million travelers in the United States will take domestic flights over the Thanksgiving holiday period, marking a 2% rise from last year. Newsweek
• [New] Thanksgiving travel is expected to hit a record high in 2025, with nearly 82 million Americans planning to travel at least 50 miles from home for holiday celebrations. Yahoo News
• [New] The worldwide timeshare vacation ownership industry is projected to reach $19.23 billion in 2025, a 7% increase over 2024. Forbes
• [New] A majority of holiday shoppers plan to use social media and AI tools to make shopping easier in 2025 - from researching gift ideas and discovering sales. Retail Technology Innovation Hub
• [New] As Gartner reports, by 2026, 25% of people will spend at least one hour per day in the metaverse for work, shopping, education, social media, or entertainment. Futurist Speaker on AI Leadership, Future of Work, Futu
• [New] The personal segment-robots used for entertainment, cleaning, education, security, and household applications - is projected to grow the fastest, at a compound annual rate of 15.8%, ballooning from $1 billion in 2010 to $9.0 billion in 2025. Robohub
• [New] Eros GenAI will serve as the intelligence layer across all Eros Innovation verticals - powering creator tools, entertainment applications, live and virtual experiences, and adaptive AI-native characters globally. City AM

Last updated: 03 December 2025