Infrastructure provides tourists with places to stay, things to do and how to get around. Without good infrastructure, tourism in the area can struggle. This promotes the government to invest in infrastructure in areas that could potentially create more profit from tourism. The Bournemouth International Centre (BIC) was completed in 1984 and was intended to bring business people in all year round so seasonality was not as big of an issue in Bournemouth. BIC management claim in 2008 it generated £65 million back into Bournemouth economy. Barry Wilson the Senior Operations manager claims "A lot of local people benefit from the BIC" (BBC, 2009). A desire to create more tourism, like the BIC has, can stimulate investment into infrastructure. This is generally beneficial to the local area as the local people have better infrastructure around them to use in their everyday lives. The initial building of any infrastructure however can cause controversy. When the spinnaker tower in Portsmouth was commissioned (to bring in more tourists) it was promised that the general public would not have to pay anything. Unfortunately by the time the structure was completed in 2005, £11 million of taxpayers money had been used. (Anna Lindsay, 2005). This caused a lot of controversy as many were not happy about having their taxes used on the tower. When we are on holiday we do not think about all the money that goes into the infrastructure we are using, instead we dream of packing up and moving to the relaxing destination. When this happens though there can be serious repercussions for the local people. Cornwall is a very popular UK destination and has many seaside resorts such as St Ives and Newquay. House prices in these areas are on the increase. This is partly due to the fact that people with disposable income such as business workers in London can afford to buy a second home in picturesque Cornwall. An increase in buyers means there are less properties available in these resorts and so the house prices increase. This has caused many locals, some who have lived in these areas for years, to be forces to move as they can no longer afford the rent.
In summary we can see that there are both positive and negative economic impacts of British seaside resorts. They are an important part of the British Economy and root of jobs. Negative impacts such as overspending on infrastructure and leakage can not always be prevented but with lots of planning the negative impacts can be reduced. Bbc.co.uk. (2016). BBC - History - British History in depth: The Victorian Seaside. [online] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/victorians/seaside_01.shtml [Accessed 18 Apr. 2016]. BBC News. (2013). 70 jobs under threat at Prestatyn and Rhyl seaside leisure sites - BBC News. [online] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-25372298 [Accessed 19 Apr. 2016]. Beatty, C. and Fothergill, S. (2004). Economic Change and the Labour Market in Britain’s Seaside Towns. Regional Studies, 38(5), pp.459-478. Beatty, C., Fothergill, S. and Gore, T. (2014). SEASIDE TOWNS IN THE AGE OF AUSTERITY. [online] Sheffield Hallam University. Available at: http://www4.shu.ac.uk/research/cresr/sites/ shu.ac.uk/files/seaside-towns-age-austerity.pdf [Accessed 19 Apr. 2016]. Beatty, C., Fothergill, S., Gore, T. and Wilson, I. (2010). The Seaside Tourist Industry in England and Wales. Sheffield Hallam University. [online] Available at: http://www4.shu.ac.uk/ research/cresr/sites/shu.ac.uk/files/seaside-tourist-industry-england-wales.pdf [Accessed 19 Apr. 2016].
Lee, C., Bergin-Seers, S., Galloway, G., O'Mahony, B. and McMurray, A. (2008). SEASONALITY IN THE TOURISM INDUSTRY. [online] CRC. Available at: http:// coastaltourismacademy.co.uk/uploads/ CRC_Queensland_2008_Seasonality_in_the_tourism_industry_(2).pdf [Accessed 17 Apr. 2016].
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British seaside resorts became popular in the Victorian Era, the most famous being Blackpool and Southend. They featured donkeys, Punch and Judy and fish and chips. Over the last 150 years many things have changed, such as new technology, enabling British holiday makers to travel abroad fairly cheaply. This has led to a decline in the number of vacationers choosing to stay on their own shores for their “annual holiday”. However this new technology also means the Great British public can reach British seaside resorts in a lot quicker time, meaning weekend or even day trips to these resorts are more assessable. In more recent years tourism has again been affected. This time it is by the economy. The recession that started in 2008 left many British nationals short on money. It is unclear how this affected seaside resorts however, as statistics show UK domestic holidays increased by 5.6% between 2007—2011 whilst the largest British seaside resorts (such as Bournemouth and Blackpool) reported a slump on average of 5%. (Travel Weekly, 2013)
News.bbc.co.uk. (2016). BBC - Dorset - Bournemouth venue marks 25 years. [online] Available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/dorset/hi/people_and_places/ arts_and_culture/newsid_8244000/8244075.stm [Accessed 19 Apr. 2016]. People1st.co.uk. (2016). Seasonal hospitality and tourism employment. [online] Available at: http://www.people1st.co.uk/getattachment/Research-policy/Research-reports/ Monthly-insights-reports/Insights-report-March-15-Seasonal-workers.pdf.aspx [Accessed 15 Apr. 2016]. Stynes, D. (1999). Approaches to Estimating the Economic Impacts of Tourism; Some Examples. Economic impact approaches. [online] Available at: https://msu.edu/course/ prr/840/econimpact/pdf/ecimpvol2.pdf [Accessed 15 Apr. 2016].
Travel Weekly. (2016). [online] Available at: http://www.travelweekly.co.uk/ articles/42808/uk-tourism-weathering-recession-but-numbers-dip [Accessed 15 Apr. Blackpoolpleasurebeach.com. (2016). Opening Times. [online] Available at: https:// www.blackpoolpleasurebeach.com/park-guide/plan-your-day-out/opening-times/?month=01-11 2016]. -2016 [Accessed 18 Apr. 2016]. Vanhove, N. (2011). The economics of tourism destinations. [Place of publication not identified]: Elsevier. Bol, D. (2016). 'Lower tourism tax in seaside resorts' - MP backs call to help boost businesses in Dorset. [online] Bournemouth Echo. Available at: http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/ news/11551182._Lower_tourism_tax_in_seaside_resorts____MP_backs_call_to_help_boost_bu Visit England, (2016). Domestic Seaside Tourism. [online] Available at: https:// sinesses_in_Dorset/ [Accessed 18 Apr. 2016]. d1myqg1v1ynzrd.cloudfront.net/sites/default/files/vb-corporate/Images/England-statsinsights/seaside.pdf [Accessed 19 Apr. 2016]. Burnham-on-sea.com. (2016). Over 40 tourism jobs on offer this week at recruitment days in Brean. [online] Available at: http://www.burnham-on-sea.com/news/2014/recruitment-days-04 Vogel, H. (2001). Travel industry economics. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University -03-14.php [Accessed 13 Apr. 2016]. Press. Coastal regeneration in English resorts. (2010). coastal communities allience. [online] Available at: http://www.coastalcommunities.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/coastal-regenerationhandbook.pdf [Accessed 18 Apr. 2016].
The Economic Impact of British Seaside Resorts
Williams, A., Shaw, G., Greenwood, J. and Hennessy, S. (1986). Tourism and economic development.Tourism in Cornwall Project, 2.
Tourism can create many different impacts, some of which affect the local area or Britain as a whole economically. These impacts can be positive or negative or a mixture of both depending on whose point of view you are taking. In this briefing sheet I am focusing on the economic impacts precipitated by seaside resorts on: -Employment –Infrastructure –Spend We can measure potential impacts by using surveys, expert judgement and looking at spending averages.
In the tourism industry it can be hard to calculate the employment generated by tourism. This is due to the fact that it is hard to differentiate between jobs caused directly by the tourism industry (for example hotel staff and theme park workers) and indirect jobs (such as waiters and retail assistants). Figure 1 shows a map of England and Wales and the average year-round employment directly supported by seaside tourism for the years 2010-2012. As you can see a vast percentage of the coast relies at least partially on the jobs tourism creates. Brean, based in Somerset, relied on 93% of their employment to be directly supported by tourism in the years 2010-2012 (Beatty,Fothergill and Gore, 2014). In one week in 2014, 40 jobs were available at recruitment days in Brean including lifeguards, caterers and cleaners. This shows just how many of the jobs in that area rely on seaside tourism. The trouble with many of these jobs is the fact they are season- (Figure 1: Beatty, Fothergill al. This means in the cold winter and Gore, 2014) months when the resort is mainly empty these jobs may not exist. Seasonal jobs may be useful for workers such as students but for others it can be a lack of income through a few difficult months of the year. In the UK many of the causes of seasonality are obvious. The weather plays a big part as does the timing of school holidays. There is also a chain affect as when an amusement park such as Blackpool pleasure beach closes at the start of November to avoid the cold weather tourists are less likely to visit Blackpool as one of the main attractions is closed. Reliability of jobs is another potential impact on any tourism based job. If the resort struggles to see the same amount of visitors year after year jobs will be cut. This could be caused by things such as the threat of terrorism, to the local amusement park closing. In 2013, 70 jobs were at threat at leisure parks in Denbighshire when funding was decreased from the local council (BBC,2013).
Visitor spend is perhaps the most obvious economic impact. The effect it has on the local economy can be obvious the price of staying at a campsite or buying a sunbed on the beach. On the other hand visitor spending can be less obvious, like employment there are direct and less direct results. As you can see from figure 2 domestic overnight trips to the Seaside earnt £3,860 million in 2014 and Day visits earnt £5,310 million. This has invested a lot of money into seaside resorts and the local population. Unfortunately this inFigure 2: Data from (Visit England, 2014) come is usually seasonal and may leave the community out of pocket for the rest of the year as they are not gaining a steady income. Contribution to government revenues (taxes) are beneficial from visitor spending. At the moment tourism tax is at 20%. Yet there is a large call for this tax to be lowered to 5%. South Dorset MP Richard Drax claims “it would clearly ease the burden on businesses and allow them to thrive.” (David Bol, 2014). Initially it may sound like the country could lose money but if taxes for tourism are lowered it is argued that 120,000 jobs could be created as well as £4 billion added to UK GDP every year thanks to lower prices of tourism in England and the increase of tourists this would bring (David Bol, 201). There are of course issues with visitor spending. One of these is leakage. Leakage occurs when the money visitors spend on their trip does not end up in the area they are staying in or into taxes. An example would be a student from London working a summer season in Cornwall, when that season has finished and the student returns back to London they may take most of the money they have made with them. This takes money out of the local area that was created by the seaside resort. Another example would be an inbound tourist visiting Dorset from Spain booking through a Spanish travel agent. The Spanish travel agents would charge a fee, usually paid by the hotel the tourist would stay in. Therefore a percentage of the money earnt through that holiday does not go to Dorset but stays in Spain. Enclave tourism is similar to leakage as the money does not all go to the local area. Butlin's in Bognor Regis features restaurants, a fun fair, a spa and pool area as well as various stages and bars with plenty of entertainment. Why would visitors there need to leave the hotel resort? This is the problem. Hotel resorts such as Butlin's provide everything for their guests so they don’t have to go off site. They bring a lot of tourists to the area but there can be limitation in how much the tourists spend outside of the hotel area. When a large proportion of a communities income relies on tourism visitor spend can be extremely important. When visitors fail to come it is not only the employment level that suffers. Small business such as tourist shops based on the beach may not make enough money to stay open and pay their rent. This is the negative side of economic dependence of the local community on tourism as they do not have a backup plan if no tourists arrive.