As the summer school-holidays start, a new report shows that the British seaside tourist industry remains in remarkably good health despite fears that the recession and subsequent squeeze on household incomes would lead to a big fall in spending on leisure and tourism.
The new report, by a research team at Sheffield Hallam University, shows that the number of jobs supported by seaside tourism has continued to grow despite the so-called ‘age of austerity’.
The report estimates that, averaged across the year as a whole, more than 200,000 jobs in England and Wales are directly supported by seaside tourism.
The new figures show that seaside tourism employs more people than the motor industry for example, or than aerospace, pharmaceuticals or steel.
Blackpool retains the biggest single concentration of seaside tourism jobs – nearly 16,000 – closely followed by Brighton and Bournemouth. In all, 63 resorts around the coast of England and Wales each have at least 1,000 jobs directly supported by tourism.
But the report also shows that some places are faring better than others. Many resorts along the South Coast and in South West England show solid growth in tourism employment. In a number of other places however, including in Blackpool, the pressure on visitors’ incomes and spending appears to have choked growth.
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