Blackpool – like Paris only not as nice
\nPicture<\/p>\n
History & attractions
\nBased on visitor numbers, Blackpool is still the UK leading coastal resort.
\nAttractions such as the famous Blackpool Tower, theme park, donkeys on the beach and a sea front promenade. It has its origins in Victorian times and the reasons
\nfor its growth are the same as those mentioned in the Butler model. By the
\nmiddle of the nineteenth century the railway had linked Blackpool to Manchester and the other densely populated textile towns of Lancashire. Factory workers poured into Blackpool on Bank Holidays. Later, after the introduction of paid annual holidays, they spent a week there, every year. Many northern families never considered going anywhere else. Blackpool had the natural advantage of a sandy beach, which stretched for miles; by 1900, the tourist infrastructure of promenade, piers, big hotels and the Tower were all in place.
\nDecline & decay
\nGrowth was more or less continuous until 1960. However, the traditional British seaside resorts have been in decline for 40 years, ever since people discovered guaranteed summer sun and warmth in Mediterranean
\ncountries. Blackpool was badly affected.
\nBetween 1990 to 1999
\nvisitor numbers per year dropped from 17 million to 11 million
\n1000 hotels ceased trading
\n300 holiday-flat premises closed
\naverage hotel occupancy rate fell as low as 25%
\nBlackpool was not exciting existing visitors enough to make them come back the following year, nor was it attracting sufficient new customers. By 2000 some bed-and-breakfast
\nprices had fallen as low as \u00a310 per night, which left no money for investments in improvements. A downward spiral of decline set in as some parts of town started to look very run-down. This happened despite improvements in road access
\nafter the M55 was completed as the motorway link from the M6.
\nBlackpool’s problems
\nfamilies frightened off by binge-drinking culture of ‘stag nights’ and ‘hen parties’
\nbeach erosion during winter storms
\nbeach and sea water pollution
\nunemployment out of season
\novercrowding and traffic jams on bank holidays
\nunreliable summer weather – wet and windy
\ncheap package holidays to the Mediterranean taking regular visitors away
\nSolutions
\nsmarten up areas run-down and which look unpleasant to tourists
\npulling down old buildings and landscaping car parks
\nbeaches have been cleaned up and beach facilities improved
\nin 2006 three of Blackpool’s beaches were given blue flags for clean sea-water
\nsand extraction has been reduced further up the coast which will reduce the
\nrate of erosion of the beaches
\nthe ‘Blackpool Illuminations’ which are vital for extending the visitor season into the autumn, are being transformed by a \u00a310 million investment after
\nyears of ‘always being the same’.
\nOther off-season events, such as conferences and festivals are being promoted
\nNew attractions at the pleasure beach theme park and Nickelodeon land
\nmore covered areas for tourists to protect them from the bad weather
\nHow effective have the strategies been?
\nThe super-casino went to Manchester instead of Blackpool (although the plans were scrapped) and the average occupancy rates in Blackpool holiday accommodation
\nremain below 25%. Blackpool will have to rely on day trippers and people who stay for a few nights at best. Blackpool’s attractions have not changed and it is
\nlimited by its size. Other coastal resorts such as Scarborough have tried to attract small businesses and change its image but Blackpool is too big for a
\nsmall solution and suffers from its image. It is not a wealthy town, and has high rates of unemployment and areas of deprivation.<\/p>\n
http:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/1\/hi\/uk\/8123208.stm – a recent article detailing the decline in the number of tourist visiting Blackpool
\nhttp:\/\/www.gatm.org.uk\/geographyatthemovies\/tourism.html – this link takes you to the Geography At The Movies website and has great link for tourism videos. Use it to look at the Blackpool video <\/p>\n
A video showing the Pepsi Max rollercoaster at the Pleasure Beach This is an advert of Blackpool reinventing itself as attractive as a French resort.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"