Seaside resort revival

Oh we do like to be beside the seaside, oh we do like to be beside the sea. Of course since the arrival of the package holiday, and more recently the freedom to plan your own trip afforded by the internet, the perceived wisdom has been that the seaside you’ll be catching your rays by will not be part of the UK coastline. Afterall, UK resorts are dying a death by a hundred cuts, suffocating under the worse sort of tourist tat, with dilapidated facilities and half empty amusement arcades flashing their array of gaudy lights in vain. Everyone knows that. So you might be interested to hear that new research, published today by Sheffield Hallam University’s Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research, reveals that far from a sector breathing its last seaside resorts in England and Wales have been net contributors of jobs to the UK economy, creating 20,000 since the late 1990s. One of the highest profile backers of the UK’s seaside is Travelodge, which made a £150m commitment in2008 that has seen it open sites in seaside towns such as Blackpool, Weymouth, Newquay, Bournemouth and Scarborough (the group has a long-term target of 55 Travelodges in costal towns by 2015). In fact, the research, which covers 121 towns and related seaside locations, suggests that the budget hotel group is far from alone and that the sector supports some 100,000 jobs within the hotel, bar, restaurant and cafe sector (210,000 across all sectors, including retail and caravan parks). In totality it contributes a significant £3.6bn a year to the UK’s economy. It should be noted that employment rates such as these make the seaside resort sector a bigger employer than the telecommunications, pharmaceuticals or motor industry in Britain. Blackpool, which in many ways has come to symbolise the outdated view of seaside towns, albeit with some justification, remains the biggest contributor of jobs within the seaside sector with more than 19,000. Given the collective hand ringing and doom laden proclamations given Blackpool’s failure to land Labour’s ultimately disastrous super casino folly you’d have thought seaside towns should roll over and give up, but it is the Lancashire town itself that has regrouped and with the recent purchase of its iconic tower from property magnate Trevor Hemmings, is embarking on a £40m regeneration scheme. Report co-author Steve Fothergill at Sheffield Hallam is in little doubt about the sector’s importance in a broke Britain, where cash strapped consumers and those fearful of getting standard abroad due to volcanic eruptions are rediscovering what the UK has to offer. “Leisure and tourism is a growing market. What our figures show is that even in the face of stiff competition from holidays abroad, Britain’s seaside towns have been able to retain and even expand much of their core business,” said Fothergill. “The British seaside tourist industry remains a major employer. The new government should make every effort to ensure that the industry delivers its full potential in the coming years.” It’s a point Bob Cotton, who gives his last performance as chief executive of the British Hospitality Association at its annual lunch shortly, has been attempting to drum into ministers for some time. He endorsed the coalition government early this month, stating it would be better for UK tourism than a re-elected Labour administration. Although given Cotton’s view that Labour failed completely in its time in power to take tourism seriously, the Conservative lead coalition shouldn’t get too carried away just yet. "We look forward to evidence of a greater government belief in the value of tourism to the UK economy, with measures that will enable it to fulfil its potential as one of the country's principal economic drivers," Cotton said. Given the swinging cuts announced in this month’s emergency budget, one presumes that recognition of the industry’s importance won’t sadly come with a significant dowry, but as ever we’ll see. Whether through funding, tax breaks or investment programmes, it would be nothing short of a crime not to give the UK seaside resort the backing it deserves. Temperatures are soaring at present and with a stagnant economy likely to persist, hospitality operators are hoping for a good summer performance to sustain them in what will undoubtedly be a tough remainder to the year. In the medium term for the coalition government to repeat the mistakes of its predecessor and ignore a sector that has battled and succeed in reinventing itself, especially as the UK gears up for the 2012 Olympics, would be unconscionable. Fothergill and his colleagues describe UK seaside resorts as a national treasure, contemporary and ready to tackle the challenges the future will bring. We don’t currently have many industries in the UK we can describe as thus. Without doubt then the sun hasn’t set on the UK’s seaside resorts but by the same measure the private sector can’t be expected to continue doing it all on its own. It’s high time the politicians took in the sea air too.