The field of themed entertainment is often regarded as one of the most innovative sectors in the field of leisure when it comes to new technologies. Not only does the content of themed entertainment heavily rely on new technologies that raise the bar of bringing fictional worlds to life (e.g. the highly advanced robotic figures that populate recent additions to various theme parks worldwide), also, new technologies are constantly being implemented to better facilitate guest experiences by taking hassles of all kinds and sorts away (e.g. mobile apps which can turn a smartphone into a theme park ticket, into a key to a hotel room and into a personalised recommendation system to avoid long queues). Recently, there have been two disruptive developments in society that challenge the themed entertainment industry to reconsider its use of technology in these domains: the rapid emergence of generative artificial intelligence (AI) applications and staffing shortage.

We know more and more about what people do in their free time. Not only through surveys or time-use studies, but also thanks to (public) data on, for example, length of visits and facility use, which is being made increasingly insightful and accessible. Using an online tool or data dashboard such as Digitwin, the next step is to structure data for policy-makers or managers who do not specialise in dealing with this data.

Breda University of Applied Sciences (BUas) is a pioneer in esports education. Gaming is a digital form of leisure and a huge industry. There are approximately three billion gamers on this planet (Newzoo, 2021). Some people play casual games after a hard day’s work to relax, whereas for others it is a lifestyle. Creative Media and Game Technologies educates students to design and develop these games. Esports is the pillar of gaming that goes beyond its digital environment. These are titles played competitively in an organised way with official teams, tournaments and competitions. In esports it is quite common that fans watch tournaments and cheer for their favourite players and team, sometimes without actively playing the games themselves.

Gaming has become an integral part of children's leisure activities. Thanks to tablets, smartphones, game computers and because almost every family in the Netherlands has access to the internet, the current generation of children (born after 2000) is totally familiar with playing (online) games. Gaming has become an accepted part of leisure activities. Eighty-one per cent of all children play games regularly, half of them more than three times a week.

Chances are that you have heard about NFTs the last couple of years. People were restricted to their homes looking for leisure in new places. The pandemic gave us all infinite time behind our laptops. We started to appreciate digital experiences as it was the only alternative. NFT activity grew as CryptoKitties, CryptoPunks and NBA Top Shots were minted, traded and sold. Interest soared to a full-fledged hype in March 2021 when practically all media outlets worldwide reported on the sale of The First 5,000 Days. Mike Winkelman, better known by his artist’s name Beeple, sold this artwork as an NFT for 69 million dollars. Soon after Yugalabs minted their Bored Ape Yacht Club collection of 10,000 unique illustrations of monkeys. They promised to “shape the future of web3 through storytelling, experiences and community.” More skeptical people thought they were just overpriced ‘jpegs’ of monkey cartoons.

How many people would never experience live music in their entire lives? How many would never be touched by being connected to a performing artist? Or, to cite the British sociomusicologist Simon Frith, “who [would say] they loved particular performers but had no desire to see them live?” (Frith, 2007). Obviously, live music is of great importance in the lives of many.