Preference and Constraints on Outdoor Recreational Activities: Insights from Hospitality Management Students

This study was conducted to determine patronage and benefits of the hospitality management students on recreational activities. This specifically assessed the preference and constraints on the land, water, and air outdoor recreational activities. Through descriptive-correlational research design and researcher-made questionnaire, it identified significant relationship between the demographic profile and their preference on outdoor recreational activities. The survey tool was distributed through Google Forms via messenger. Results showed that camping, swimming and parasailing are the most preferred outdoor recreational activities. Majority of the respondents preferred participating in outdoor activities with their families. Majority of them have joined activities inside the campus while others wanted to experience it in local parks, trails or playgrounds. Furthermore, the statistical results for motivation are much higher than the constraints implying higher benefits than the experienced constraints. The test of relationship proved that the demographic profile of the participants is irrelevant to their preferences, motivation and constraints.


Introduction
The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Memorandum Order No. 62 explains tourism-related activities as a curricular requirement for hospitality students. It is necessary to observe, learn, and carry out managerial and operational tasks in food production, lodging, food and beverage service, transportation services, travel and tour operations, and other developing sectors of the hospitality and tourism industry. These types of activities enable academic institutions to produce hospitality management professionals with the necessary competencies.
Hence, participation in recreational activities among Hospitality Management students is beneficial for academic achievement as well as self-development.
Outdoor recreation is essential for a healthy mind, body, and spirit to cope with crises or disasters. Through physical connection with the natural world, outdoor recreation provides vital recreational ecosystem services such as stress release, socializing, and nature appreciation (Scholte et al., 2019). Recreation is a healthy alternative to a positive attitude and provides opportunities for learning and a balanced and productive lifestyle (Davis, 2021). However, the current pandemic placed major areas on lockdown; thus, engagement in outdoor recreational activities has been limited (Leal & Burt, 2021). As the lockdown begins, people have been forced to stay at their homes while students have relied on online learning in most universities since face-to-face interactions have been restricted.
The VWXGHQWV ¶ lack of social interaction due to government restrictions on Covid-19 has greatly harmed their mental health, affecting their studies and relationships. In fact, Oyoque and Brown (2020) stress the lack of social interaction harming people's mental health which obstruct academic success. Motivation, focus, and social relationships are significant variables in students' educational progress affected by mental distress. While recreational activities can help introduce social interaction to students, the pandemic limited the curricular and extra-curricular activities of the students. Hearth (2022) believes recreational activities can help students feel less stressed, anxious, and depressed. A sense of worth, belonging, and attachment are all fostered by engaging in group recreation.
In this context, this study determines the preference and constraints experienced by the Hospitality Management students of a university in the Philippines. It details the outdoor recreational activities the students availed and patronized recreational activities during the pandemic.

Outdoor Recreational Activities
Over the past years, the term "outdoor recreation" has been used in leisure studies. Outdoor recreation is any activity that requires place in the open air and involves interactions with each other as well as by the natural environment. A wide range of activities from playgrounds to playfields and wilderness trips to camping are included in outdoor recreation and do not just refer to activities done in parks or open spaces. Mehlhaf (2019) explains that as children grow into adults, they discover their favorite pastimes and routines, which are then molded and molded by their views, perceptions, and ideals. These hobbies and habits emerge from the user's passions, and when that passion is focused on outdoor recreation, such outdoor recreation pursuits give the participant with benefits that can be noticed. According to Culp (1998), natural outdoor spaces are still frequently regarded as a man's domain. Certain outdoor sports, such as hunting and fishing, are rarely introduced to girls; for example, hunting and fishing skills are traditionally passed down from father to son, and a daughter is rarely invited to participate. Moreover, The Outdoor Foundation (2017) found that adults who were exposed to the outdoors as children were more likely to participate in outdoor activities as adults than adults who were not exposed to the outdoors as children.
Spending time outside of one's comfort zone has been shown to improve one's physical and mental well-being. Sisson (2012) affirms that spending leisure time doing things not limited to region enhances physical and emotional well-being. For example, walking, fishing, running, playing, mountain trekking, riding, and swimming are all outdoor activities. Kamaroff (2012) stresses outdoor activities as essential for the growth and development of both the body and the mind. Similarly, engaging in outdoor activities ensures that a person receives adequate sunshine.
When sunlight strikes the skin, the process begins with the participation of the liver and kidneys, leading to creating the physiologically active form of the vitamin. Brodwin (2019) found that humans also feel happier when they engage in outdoor activities. Natural light has been shown to improve people's moods, yet the only way to get it is to leave the enclosures. Physical activities calm and energize individuals. Spending time outside makes a person more proactive, cheerful and starts a good attitude. The practice of exercising one's body amid nature is commonly referred to as "green exercise." Such activities are essential for mental growth and development. Participating in a green movement for at least five minutes' boosts self-esteem, happiness, and mood (Navarro et al., 2017). Outdoor activities provide mental advantages, such as stress reduction. The outdoor exercise engages all five senses in ways that indoor workouts do not. Furthermore, being outside in nature has a beneficial effect on the brain, helping you feel better about yourself.
According to World Health Organization (2003), the anti-cancer protein and natural killer cells increase over time to prevent infection and cancer cell development. Body activities are done outside in natural green and blue water, such as swimming, promoting body defensive cells. Gladwell et al. (2013) emphasize spending leisure time in nature to reduce the prevalence of illnesses such as high blood pressure, heart failure, and sympathetic nerve activity. Moreover, Mason (2002)  Among the many outdoor recreational activities, water resources provide an entire habitat for biodiversity as well as appealing aspects to recreationalists in many villages, towns, and cities across the world (Keys et al., 2012). They offer opportunities for water-based leisure activities such as swimming, boating, sunbathing, skiing, recreational fishing, and aesthetic attractions (Godbey, 2009). Water-dependent ecotourism is appropriately used in industrialized nations such as the Caribbean islands, the United States, and the Middle East for the benefit of both environmental protection and commercial profits through suitable policies, plans, management systems, and budgets. However, this only applies to developing countries, some of which have abundant water resources in terms of lakes and rivers (Ngunyi, 2009). The nation's rivers, lakes, and coastal waterways are used for a variety of recreational activities. Swimming, boating, fishing, whitewater rafting, and surfing are some of the water-based leisure activities. Other hobbies, such as hiking, nature watching, and waterfowl shooting, benefit from being near water. Marine biologists investigated the consequences of recreational tourists on rocky coasts by observing activities (e.g., Addison et al., 2008, Natural England, 2010, Porter and Wescott, 2004Smallwood, Beckley, and Moore, 2012) and linking them to future habitat impacts (e.g., Beauchamp and Gowing, 1982, Fitzpatrick and Bouchez, 1998, Fletcher and Frid, 1996.

Students Participation in Outdoor Recreational Activities
According to Sidi et al. (2017), it is essential that students participate in the outdoor recreation program to help them build their self-esteem, think positively, and strive for perfection.
Outdoor activities have been shown to help students succeed academically, stay committed to their jobs, and think critically, as well as to keep them out of trouble. Moreover, it serves as a medium for gaining recreational experience and engaging in the great outdoors in their natural habitat.
Buedron (2019) adds getting up and moving around as essential functions that the human body has evolved to carry out with vigor and competence. Because they are young, college students are expected to engage in a variety of extracurricular activities. Andre et al. (2017) found that it is common for students to experience anxiety when studying in college and navigating through the academic environment. Students are pulled in various directions by the demands of school, work, social, and family responsibilities. Recreation, mainly when it takes place outside, has been shown to reduce stress levels. Outdoor recreation has been shown to impact the levels of social support experienced by participants positively. Students who are involved have more friends, and there are more people on campus with whom they would feel comfortable sharing an emotional secret if they were not involved.
On the other hand, Ayhan et al. (2018) said it is believed that leisure activities help students develop positive social behaviors and a high-quality lifestyle, as well as protect the young population from developing harmful habits. Educating the next generation to adopt pro-active behaviors and attitudes is one of the primary goals of promoting leisure activities based on diversification of motivation, improvement of physical fitness, and enhancement of motor skills, all of which are important for the future of our society.

COVID 19 Pandemic Impact on Outdoor Recreation Participation
According to World Health Organization (2020) recognized the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as a pandemic. In an official statement, the WHO Director-General urged all countries to 'detect, test, treat, isolate, trace, and mobilize their people in the response minimize.
The COVID-19 Pandemic is not only a public health emergency on a global scale, but it has also disrupted people's daily lives all over the world. Bao et al. (2020) said that travel restrictions on all scales, from intercontinental tourism to stay-at-home orders, have significantly strained the global community. While it is necessary to halt the spread of the virus, reduced or restricted access to settings that facilitate outdoor recreation reduces a community's capacity to deal with a crisis, particularly for the outdoor enthusiast subculture²those who rely heavily on outdoor recreation as a source of leisure (Outdoor Industry Association, 2015). From a recreational standpoint, urban outdoor enthusiasts are one group that has been particularly impacted by the Pandemic and the subsequent institutional response. Stay-at-home orders and physical distancing recommendations are potential deterrents to outdoor recreation activities that are essential to the lifestyles and wellbeing of outdoor enthusiasts. Loss of access to outdoor recreation opportunities limits people's ability to engage with healthy natural environments and escape the crisis's pressures (Rung et al., 2011;Samuelsson et al., 2020).
According to the Leave No Trace Center, Recreationists are going out alone, more often and some Recreationists are staying closer to home. Some of them are shifting their recreation activities. The most impacted Urban residents are reducing the amount they hike and the length of their backcountry excursions significantly more than rural and suburban residents. It also harms their Physical and Mental Health. Outdoor recreation engagement, distance traveled to participate in outdoor recreation, and distance traveled beyond roadways during outdoor recreation have decreased much more among urban residents than in urban clusters or rural areas.
According to Thomsen et al. (2013) and Holland et al. (2018), outdoor recreation has been strongly connected to physical, mental, and social health and welfare through the provision of ecosystem services, even outside of the context of the current crisis. Design and planning that increase exposure to natural features in recreation settings can improve these ecosystem services in urban environments (Tan et al., 2020). Moreover, Samuelsson et al. (2020) assert that it is critical to comprehend how recreation patterns are evolving in response to COVID-19 and how the delivery of recreational ecosystem services may be impacted to implement better park management, planning, and design.

Motivation for Participating in Outdoor Recreational Activities
Adventure recreation events are relatively new form of leisure that has grown in popularity since then, but little is known about what motivates people to participate. Lynch and Dibben (2016) stress on physical exertion as requirement for participation in adventure recreation events. People are motivated to get away from urban environments and regain a sense of freedom in 'wilderness' areas. Mountaineers and trampers discovered that being in a natural place and enjoying natural scenery were the most compelling reasons for participating in each activity. On the other hand, Side et al. (2017) describes outdoor recreational activity participation increasing over the last 20 years, which involved a large population and various age groups, including the elderly, adults, adolescents, and children. Recreational activities are generally pursued a person's enjoyment during their leisure time without being forced by others; these recreation activities are sought to fill their leisure time or, in the recreation term, those activities that provide positive values and benefits to the people. In the study of Pomfret and Bramwell (2016), importance of overcoming mental and physical challenges, enduring suffering, and pushing themselves to their limits are key motivators for participating in outdoor recreational activities.

Constraints in Participating Outdoor Recreational Activities
Recreation in the outdoors is widely perceived as a fundamentally important and beneficial aspect of many people's lives, and it is frequently used as a tool to assess social well-being among the general population (Fagerholm et al., 2021;Tinsley et al., 2002). Despite the benefits gained from outdoor recreational activities, constraints in participating in outdoor recreational activities are unavoidable. According to the Mehlhaf (2019) and Scott et al. (2004), leisure constraints are factors that prevent or restrict a person from participating in any activity they might be interested in experiencing. Tae (2007) cites the three subcategories of leisure constraints: intrapersonal constraints, interpersonal constraints, and structural constraints. Intrapersonal constraints involve the individual psychological states and attributes which interact with leisure rather than intervening between preferences and participation including stress, depression, anxiety, religiosity, kin, and non-kin reference group attitudes, prior socialization into specific leisure activities, perceived selfskill, and subjective evaluations of the appropriateness and availability of various leisure activities.
Interpersonal constraints are the product of the intrapersonal constraints that accompany spouses into the marital relationship, thus affecting joint preference for leisure activities or those barriers that arise from spousal interaction. Barriers of this sort may interact with both preferences for and subsequent participation in companionate leisure activities. Lastly, structural constraints are intervening factors between leisure preference and participation that include family life cycle stage, family financial resources, season, climate, the scheduling of work time, availability of opportunity (and knowledge of such availability), and reference group attitudes concerning the appropriateness of certain activities.

Research Design
This study utilized the descriptive-correlational research design. It was used to ascertain the perceived benefits of outdoor recreational activities among the respondents during the COVID-19 pandemic and the relationship between independent and dependent variables.

Respondents of the Study
The respondents for this study were the third and fourth year level students from Central Mindanao University, College of Human Ecology, Department of Hospitality Management. There In total, there were 112 respondents of the study.

Research Instrument
The study utilized an adapted questionnaire from Mehlhaf (2019) (3) sub-variables given.

Data Gathering Procedure
Prior to distributing the research instrument, the researcher requested permission from the dean of the College of Human Ecology, the Department Head of Hospitality Management, and the students ¶ consent to participate in the survey. The researcher disseminated the questionnaire through Google Forms sent via Facebook messenger.
The study assured that information of the respondents as well as their answers are treated with confidentiality. In addition, this research material is freely accessible for students, teachers, and individuals.

Statistical Treatment
The study used frequency, percentages, and weighted mean in the demographic profile of the respondents as well as on determining the outdoor recreational activities mostly participated.
The Pearson R correlation coefficient, on the other hand, was used to measure the relationship EHWZHHQ WKH UHVSRQGHQW ¶V SURILOH DQG WKH SHUFHLYHG EHQHILWV RI RXWGRRU UHFUHDtional activities participation. Several open-ended questions were used to explain demographic data (such as academic focus and current age) and behaviors related to outdoor recreation (age, at which recreation started; the best ways to be engaged in outdoor recreation participation). Those who participated in the survey were also given the opportunity to clarify or explain their responses, which included other factors related to motivation and constraints, other activities they had participated in, and their usual location for outdoor recreational activities.  Furthermore, result indicates that swimming receives the most responses from female students of all the stated water activities. Male students, on the other hand, prefer water sports such as canoeing and kayaking, which they like because of the ambiance, and it motivates them to hang out with families and friends. Furthermore, full-time students are more likely to participate in water-related recreational activities than part-time working students since they have more time.

Results and Discussion
Lack of time and cost are the top two barriers preventing participants from doing more, with lack of time being the most common barrier. According to Arzu et al. (2006), not having enough time was the most important barrier to not participating in physical activity. Lack of time was similarly reported by students as the main obstacle (Grubbs et al., 2002;Gyurcsik et al., 2004).
Parasailing and paragliding, both available in the Philippines, are the most preferred air activities by the students. Nevertheless, only a tiny percentage of the population favored skydiving since the activity is currently only available abroad. Furthermore, most students that enjoy these activities are male students, who are believed to be more wild-spirited and most likely to seek high-risk activities than females. The table also shows that full-time students are more likely than part-time working students to participate in air recreational activities because they have more time and money. Additionally, there is a proportionality regarding who participates in outdoor recreational activities the most in terms of student year level. Although there are limits concerning the type of activity, which involves air and cloud level heights, it cannot be denied that the view from above and the adrenaline rush are the factors that attract mostly male students to participate in these activities.
As shown in have not participated this year, but have participated in the past, while the (3.57%) have never participated in outdoor recreational activities. These imply that some respondents were enthusiastic about participating in outdoor recreational activities, and some were not. Regardless of the pandemic, they have still managed to find a way to connect with nature and relax their lives.
As a human person, connecting to nature is essential. Humans and the natural world benefit from a close relationship with nature. As a result, spending time in nature makes people happier and more connected, and being happy and connected makes individuals feel healthier (Richardson, 2017). As to recreational companion, 0.89% of the respondents participated by him/herself, 33.93% participated with friends, 62.50% participated with family, and 2.68% participated with friends and family. This means that the respondents more actively participated in outdoor recreational activities with family; they enjoyed things with family; they treasured every moment with family; they gave more importance to their family. According to Cris (2006), one of the most acceptable ways to reduce stress and needless anxieties is to spend time with your family which strengthens familial relationships. Furthermore, 58.04% of the respondents participated in outdoor recreation on campus, 11.61% did not participate at all and 30.36% have not tried but interested.
The result further means that most of the respondents actively participated in outdoor recreation for educational purposes. Diversity stimulates students' minds. Adopting outdoor learning activities allows students to participate more in their classwork. In addition, participating in outdoor learning activities allows students to reconnect with nature. Students learn more about the environment and become more responsible by participating in outdoor activities (Carllota, 2019).
As to the participation in the local outdoor activities, 44.64% of the respondents participated in local/municipal parks, trails, or playgrounds, 29.46% in state parks, recreation areas, public land/hunting areas, 25.89% in private owned recreation areas (resorts, private land/property, etc.). The most popular proposals for encouraging young people to get outside include decreasing park entry prices and organizing outdoor competitions. Regardless of population, outsiders perceive their city or town as a great place to spend time outside.
The result further shows that 47.32% of the respondents are extremely comfortable with outdoor activities, 29.46% are somewhat comfortable, 22.32% neutral and 0.89% are somewhat uncomfortable. Comfort is a state of physical ease and freedom from pain or constraint. Many environmental factors influence outdoor comfort, including solar radiation, infrared radiation from the surroundings and the sky, air temperature, humidity, and wind speed. In addition, the degree of physical activity is influenced substantially by the environment. Walking, biking and recreational amenities are all obvious considerations. Traffic, public transportation, crime, and pollution may also play a role in a person's health. Other environmental factors include social environment such as support from family and friends, as well as a sense of belonging to a greater community. Hence, making physical activity a regular part of one's routine may be made simpler by identifying common barriers and providing solutions to them.    Table 5 shows the constraints to participate in outdoor recreational activities of the respondents with an overall mean score of 3.53, with verbal interpretation of agree. These results imply many reasons why a person cannot participate in outdoor recreational activities. It can be attributed to their priorities, such as earning money before healthy lifestyle. They also agree with WKH VWDWHPHQW ³eTXLSPHQW IHHV DUH WRR KLJK´ as one of the big reasons some of the respondents cannot participate in outdoor recreational activities. Participating in any activities, especially in outdoor activities, a participant should have an amount of money to be spent on the equipment, and effort.
Results of the open-ended responses showed that students lack of time and money is one of the primary constraint. In addition, the other identified constraints are parental permission, availability of the family and or friends, culture, not interested in outdoor activity, on-going pandemic, health matters, and being prone to accident. Test is not significant > 0.5 Table 6 shows that sex of the respondents has low positive (negative) correlation with a size of correlation range of .30 to .50. On the other hand, there is significant relationship between sex and participation to outdoor recreational activity, constraints to participation and motivation to participation. This implies that participation, motivation to participate, and constraints to participation of students in outdoor recreational activities vary depending on their sex. This suggest that female have different interests and hobbies than male. Similar to the findings of Ghimire et al. (2014), both male and female respondents participate in outdoor recreational activities but female respondents face higher constraints to participating in such activities than male respondents. Ayhan et al. (2018) discovered that women were more likely than men to participate in leisure activities. In the direction of the findings of this study, however, it is believed that women face greater obstacles than men in the same situation, possibly because families do not provide enough support for girls' participation in recreational activities.
The student status has negligible correlation with size of correlation of .00 to .30. On the other hand, part-time students show no significant relationship on the perceived benefits of the outdoor recreational activities while full-time students reveal significant relationship on perceived benefits of outdoor recreational activities. This means that the student status of the respondents affects the participation, motivation to participate, and constraints participation in outdoor recreational activities. This due to the reason that students who are only part-time students have lesser time to engage in outdoor recreational activities for the reason they have more priority like working and job they are paying much more time. As stated by the University of California (2021), students who are unable to undertake the full course load due to employment, family obligations, or illness.
The employment status of the students as part time has no significant relationship to the perceived benefits of outdoor recreational activities. In the same way, the strength of the relationship is at a low positive (negative) correlation with a size correlation score of 0.44 in outdoor recreation participation (ORP) and motivation to participation (MP); 0.35 on motivation to participation (MP) and constraints to participation (CP). On the other hand, 0.15 size correlation (negligible correlation) range was obtained in outdoor recreation participation (ORP) and constraints to participation (CP). For unemployed respondents, it revealed a significant relationship to the perceived benefits of outdoor recreational activities with a significant level value (Sig. F) of 0.00. This means that perceived benefits of outdoor recreational activities can be a factor towards UHVSRQGHQW ¶V participation, motivation to participation and constraints to participation of outdoor recreation activities. However, the strength of the relationship of perceived benefits of outdoor recreational activities to employment status shows that a low positive (negative) correlation with a size range of .30 to .40. This means employment status of the student will not hinder participation to outdoor recreational activities. As stated by Aksoy and Arslan (2019), even though the working hours of the unemployed are more precise (morning and evening working hours), the working time of the employed is not clear. The more regular working hours of unemployed may allow for planned participation in physical activity (due to the fact that outdoor recreational activities involve movement of body as participating towards activities). Thus, it is not the employment status as basis for participating outdoor recreational activities.
The year level of the respondents has no significant relationship to the perceived benefits (negative) correlation. This means that year level will not affect the students ¶ participation, motivation to participation and constraints to participation towards outdoor recreational activities as well as the UHVSRQGHQWV ¶ age ranges of 17-19 and 20-24 years old.

Conclusion
The VWXGHQWV ¶ SUHIHUHQFH RQ WKH outdoor recreational activities revealed that camping, swimming and parasailing as the most preferred land, water and air activities, respectively. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the students participated in outdoor activities several times during the year with their family, inside the campus of Central Mindanao University and in local/municipal parks, trails, or playground. Most of the respondents are extremely comfortable and motivated in participating to outdoor recreational activities. Furthermore, sex, employment status, student status and year level have significant relationship to the perceived benefits of outdoor recreational activities, motivation to participation and constraints to participation.
Because of the small sample size of the study, it is highly recommended that future research be directed at the entire population of students to assure high accuracy of results. Furthermore, the study showcased the preferences of the students on the outdoor recreational activities that could