Welcome to the annual proceedings of the Recreation Experience Community Network Research Symposium.

The REC Net Association met for its annual conference at Kiawah Island Golf Resort, SC, from November 8–11, 2025. One component of the conference was its Research Symposium. The purpose of these proceedings is to further disseminate the excellent work from that symposium.

In this edition, we present seven engaging manuscripts that expand knowledge in important and varied content areas. Several articles examine how the pandemic changed the recreation and tourism industry, from trends in recreational water visitation to state park campground activity. Resort activity schedules were studied and are presented here. Other articles explore experiential learning, policy support and political consumerism among water recreationists, and the role of stakeholders in youth sports tourism. This issue also features a fascinating international study from Aruba.

We acknowledge the work of the editorial board and the reviewers who aided this peer-reviewed process.

Finally, we thank the presenters and look forward to the conference in 2026.

A Scott Rood
Conference Editor
Associate Professor
Hospitality and Tourism Management
Grand Valley State University
roodsc@gvsu.edu