UK coastal tourism destinations : assessment of perceived climate impacts : issues for destination management, local governance and public policy making

Abstract

Britain’s coastlines are a prime destination for both international and domestic tourism. The British resorts and Destination Association (BRADA) provides key information on Britain’s coastline resorts. As a whole the UK has a coastline of 9040 miles (14,549km). For example England and Wales have a coastline of 3240 miles (5214km) and Scotland has a coastline of 5800 miles (9335km). Associated with this there are 5 coastal National Parks, 26 coastal Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and 45 Heritage Coasts measuring 950 miles (1,520km); Scotland has no Heritage Coasts. The National Trust owns 555 miles (888 km) of coastline and 74% of their coastline is designated Heritage Coast (BRADA, 2009). In terms of economies the resident population of the 43 principal seaside resort towns in England, Scotland and Wales totals 3.1 million, marginally more than the total population of Wales (2.9 million). The adult resident population of working age in the same 43 principal resorts was some 366,000 greater in 2001 than it was in the heyday of traditional seaside resort holidays of 1971. Over the same period, the total number of jobs available in these towns had also increased by a massive 320,000 (BRADA, 2009). In this context Visit Britain (2009) states that tourism is one of the largest industries in the UK, with direct tourism spending accounting for 2.7% of UK Gross Value Added, or approximately £86.3 billion in 2007 (Visit Britain, 2009). In Addition a recent Deloitte study 'The Economic Case for the Visitor Economy' estimated that the industry was worth £114.4 bn in 2007, equivalent to 8.2% of UK GDP (Deloitte, 2008). Within these general statistics The UK Tourism Survey 2007 highlights that the largest single element (particularly for domestic tourism) remains the coastal sector, including within it, the larger traditional seaside resorts and popular rural coastal destinations. The economic impact is thus substantial. In 2007 UK residents took a total of 26.4 million seaside trips involving one or more overnight stays. Within the 26.4 million figure, 22 million trips were made purely for seaside holidays, generating a tourism spend of £4.5 billion. England accounted for 17.0 million of these seaside holidays and £3.5 billion of the total spend. In Wales the equivalent figures were 2.8 million seaside holidays and £0.48 billion spend, and in Northern Ireland 0.5 million seaside holidays and £0.072 billion. In Scotland 1.42 million seaside holidays generated £0.28 billion. (UKTS 2007.) Of the top 10 English towns and cities visited for a holiday trip in 2007, four were coastal resorts, including Scarborough, Skegness, Bournemouth and Blackpool. In addition to these overnight trips there were almost 270 million day visits made to the British coast, generating a further £3.1 billion spend. (UK Day Visits Survey 2002-03).

Despite such figures, there has been much literature associated with British ‘seaside’ resorts, especially, latterly, research associated with the challenges confronting many ‘seaside holiday towns and resorts. A recent government report and associated Parliamentary Committee has raised such challenges. (Dept for Communities and Local Government, 2008). This is not just a recent phenomenon however. Since the early 1980s evidence from many such destinations has tended to show a slow but continued decline. For example Llandudno in North Wales, Skegness and Paignton in England are well documented. Walton, (2005) succinctly states the contemporary situation by describing many resorts as showing signs of : “degradation of the built environment' with architecture losing its distinctiveness, emblems of seaside pleasures demolished or allowed to decay, - shopping precincts and sea-front flats typical of 'up-market south-eastern retirement resorts...reducing the visual sense of seaside place identity” (Walton, 2005: 223)

However not all have undergone these negative experiences. There have been a few resorts that have contravened such trends and have developed innovative and unique contemporary tourism experiences as for example the ‘gastronomy’ resort of Padstow or the ‘surf culture capital’ of Newquay both located in Cornwall. Statistics also supplied by UKTS (2007) and BRADA (2009) also suggest positive futures. Despite such examples, however, many British tourism resorts have undergone fundamental changes over the last two decades often with local/regional government authorities, local tourism professionals and the wider tourism business community trying to respond and react to changing social, environmental and economic pressures and needs. Added to this, in recent years, has been the growing debate on climate change and the UK responses to this.