Thousands of reasons why UK seaside holiday is far from dead

Thousands of people flocked to resorts like Scarborough, Bridlington and Cleethorpes at the weekend to enjoy the warm weather, and the new figures show home-grown tourism attractions are far from dead.

The study, carried out by researchers at Sheffield Hallam University, shows as many people in England and Wales work in seaside industries as those who are employed in the telecommunications sector.

Coastal tourism employs more than the motor industry, the aerospace industry, pharmaceuticals or steel, according to the report from the university's centre for regional economic and social research.

Academics put 121 coastal resorts, including Yorkshire's most popular destinations, under the microscope and found the seaside tourist industry directly supports some 210,000 jobs.

The study found that large numbers of additional jobs are also supported indirectly by tourism through the supply chain for hotels, restaurants and other tourism related businesses.

Professor Steve Fothergill, who led the team producing the report, said: "That a large seaside tourist industry has survived and adapted is good news, not just for seaside towns but for the British economy as a whole.

"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.

"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." Prof Fothergill's study also shows that the Blackpool area has the largest single concentration of seaside tourist jobs with more than 19,000 people employed in related industries in that part of Lancashire.

The study reports that as many as 58 individual towns each have at least 1,000 jobs in seaside tourism and since the late 1990s, employment in the seaside tourist industry has increased by about one per cent a year – an overall growth of 20,000 jobs.

Tourism experts said that the estimated value to the economy of the jobs in seaside tourism is around 3.6bn a year.

Peter Hampson, director of the British Resorts and Destinations Association, said: "People who follow the fortunes of the British seaside tourist industry have always known it is a myth that the industry is in terminal decline, but we have not had the comprehensive and convincing evidence to prove otherwise until now. Britain's seaside resorts face challenges in responding to changing economic circumstances and consumer tastes, but what the Sheffield Hallam report tells us is that, in many places around the coast, the seaside tourist industry is still alive and well - and growing.

"The seaside tourist industry has been written off too often. This report highlights its resilience."

According to figures released by Scarborough Council last summer, hotel bookings were up, with Scarborough proving the country's third most popular destination for overnight stays after London and Blackpool. The resort had a larger proportion of repeat visitors, at 84 per cent.

Coun Janet Jefferson, Scarborough Council's portfolio holder for tourism and culture, said yesterday the figures were reflected in increasing visitor numbers at Yorkshire's seaside destinations, adding that the town's beaches were "heaving" yesterday.

Coun Jefferson, who runs a shop in Scarborough with her husband said: "It is not just about the people who are directly employed by tourism, there are hundreds of jobs related to the tourism industry."