Tourism in Blackpool - A coastal resort in the UK | ||||||||||
Tourism is a big industry in the United Kingdom.
It happens in many locations but the specification asks you to
look at EITHER a coastal location OR a National Park.
I have provided both for you so you can pick and choose!
Blackpool is an iconic tourist resort whose coastal location
is the main reason for its initial development as a tourist resort.
Blackpool is the 4th largest settlement in the
North West of England after Manchester, Liverpool and Warrington.
In the 2011 censes its population was registered at
142,064, a
decrease of around 200 people on year 2001.
·
The Pleasure Beach is a theme park which is the UK’s most visited
tourist attraction
·
The sandy beach and its piers
·
Blackpool Illuminations
- a spectacular light show running since 1879 during the Autumn months
to prolong the tourist season
·
Party political conferences can take place there
·
Concerts and shows happen there
The vast majority of activity within the service sector is tourism
related,
31.4% of economically active people in 2006 worked in the distribution,
hotels and restaurant sector (source).
The town
caters for more visitors than any other UK resort. There are nearly
91,000 bed spaces with the majority in small guesthouses. Many of the
visitors to Blackpool have limited disposable income and the jobs
generated are typified by low pay and short term contracts. It is not
unusual for people to hold 2 or 3 part time low paid jobs as a means of
achieving a sustainable income.
The graph below shows Blackpool’s development as a resort over
time and how this has changed. Blackpool fits the Butler Tourist Life
cycle model well.
Like many other British Holiday resorts (think Whitley Bay) Blackpool
suffered a decline in tourist numbers.
This was because;
1.
Foreign travel to the Mediterranean grew in popularity in the 1960s and
70s with its more reliable hot sunny and dry weather, and sandy beaches.
2.
The expansion of package holidays and cheaper flights, plus more
competing destinations
3.
The growth of budget airlines and cheaper accommodation from the 1990s
onwards
4.
People are changing to self-catering and buying time shares or holiday
homes abroad.
5.
Overcrowding in Blackpool and a shift in the market to late night
drinking, stag and hen parties
To combat this decline Blackpool launched a £300 million regeneration
project in 2000 and launched a failed bid for a super casino.
More recent projects to improve the town for visitors include;
Brilliance –
This is a
fantastic town centre lighting scheme which aims to encourage visitors
to explore the town centre further at night and in the day
St John’s Square
This area is an important public space in the centre of Blackpool.
This area has been pedestrianised and new planting, paving and lighting
has been added.
This is to attract and enhance the character, appearance and
atmosphere of the area. A Wave sculpture has been added and WiFi
connectivity included too.
Houndshill Shopping Centre
This Shopping Centre has been redeveloped to improve
shopping in the town centre.
The Beach - Coastal Protection The sea defences had been damaged ion Blackpool.
They have been replaced with 'Spanish steps' leading down to
the sea that will protect the coastline and increase public access to
the seafront.
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Coolgeography.co.uk by Rob Gamesby is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License. Contact - robert.gamesby@st-marys.newcastle.sch.uk |