The development of seaside tourism in the UK from 1700 to the present day

A brief history

Stage 1: Exploration (1700 - 1870)

Inland spas and coastal resorts became fashionable with the well-off. The first coastal resorts developed as people believed that that bathing and drinking sea water was good for your health! Early resorts included; Brighton, Dawlish and  Scarborough. The Napoleonic wars prevented foreign travel so boosted domestic tourism. Piers and promenades were built on which people could see and be seen. Resorts were quiet as only the rich could afford the long trip to the coast. When steamship travel developed in 1800's resorts became more accessible.

Stage 2: Take-off and development (1870 - 1939)

By the 1870's holidays on the coast began to become more available to the lower classes as cheaper rail travel, reliable employment in the cotton mills and better working hours allowed people to travel to the seaside. Workers in the mills of Bradford and Leeds headed for Scarborough and Blackpool on holiday. By 1900, Blackpool was developing fast, building theatres, ballrooms and a variety of facilities. Going on holiday became less exclusive. The Middle and Upper classes began to travel abroad. Domestic tourism still rose though. Reasons for this included: Paid holidays, cheaper transport (buses), holiday camps developed. The seaside remained the most popular attraction. 7 million tourists visited Blackpool in 1937.

Stage 3: Peak production (1945 - 1960's)

Domestic tourism grew rapidly during the 1950's encouraged by more paid holidays, an increase in wages and advertising by the travel industry. Annual holidays became regarded as the norm. The increase in car ownership opened up previously inaccessible areas and encouraged people to travel to destinations further afield. Caravan and camping sites grew up along the coasts along with an increase in the number of static caravan parks which provided people with cheap and flexible holidays.

Stage 4: Stagnation (1960 - 1970)

Holidaying on the coast in Britain reached it's peak in 1970. Seaside visitors tended to be day-trippers rather than long stay tourists. Many tended to be drawn from lower socio-economic groups and the elderly. Resorts faced competition from foreign, package holidays to resorts in Spain such as Benidorm on the Costa del Sol. Holidays in rural Britain became more popular as better roads increased accessibility to National Parks and AONB. The development of indoor attractions such as Center Parcs at Longleat in Wiltshire and Theme parks such as Alton Towers in Warwickshire contributed to a period of stagnation at the British seaside.

Stage 5: Decline or rejuvenation (1970 - present day)

Accommodation had become out-dated and in need of modernisation. Many hotels lacked to facilities now demanded by tourists such as en-suite rooms, swimming pools, spas and saunas. Many hotels still offered full-board accommodation, whereas tourists now demanded self-catering. Because the hoteliers were seeing their income fall they were unable to upgrade their facilities in time. Parking provision was also inadequate in the old Victorian planned resorts. Some resorts converted the original hotels into offices, retirement homes or nursing homes. However, some of the larger resorts such as Blackpool, Torquay and Bournemouth have been able to buck the trend and have spent millions of pounds upgrading facilities, improving car parking, building shopping malls and leisure centres and investing in old run-down piers. Bournemouth and Brighton have diversified and repositioned themselves as business tourism destinations by building conference centres.

Changes in the last 30 years

In rural areas, tourism has been promoted as farming has become less profitable. New types of tourism have emerged such as heritage tourism, theme parks and rural holiday village enclave tourism. In 2001, the most popular paid-admission attraction was The London Eye with just under 4 million visits, second was The Tower of London and third was The Eden Project in Cornwall, attracting just under 2 million visitors. Blackpool Pleasure Beach remains the most visited free-admission attraction with 6.4 million visits.

D.Drake 2009