SEASIDE TOWNS IN THE AGE OF AUSTERITY Recent trends in employment in seaside tourism in England and Wales Christina Beatty, Steve Fothergill and Tony Gore Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research Sheffield Hallam University

First to provide statistics on jobs supported by seaside tourism for every resort in England and Wales Just over 200,000 jobs directly supported Maybe as many as 600,000 adding in linkages and multipliers Employment increasing by around 1% a year Challenge to key myths 2010 tourism report

Recession from 2008 Economic growth returns in 2013, but output still lower than before recession Average household incomes lower More unemployment Big squeeze on public spending, especially benefits The age of austerity

NEGATIVE IMPACTS  Lower incomes means less spending on discretionary items  Leisure and tourism spending in the firing line But:  Not everyone hit equally − Young hit by unemployment, poor by benefit changes − Households with mortgages OK POSITIVE IMPACTS  Staycations – save money, stay in Britain  Euro exchange rate Possible impacts on seaside tourism

121 individual resorts/towns in England and Wales From very largest (300,000+ pop.) down to around 1,500 pop. All accurately defined at LSOA level Combined population of just over 3.8 million Geographical coverage

All based on official statistics on employment Key element is comparison with towns elsewhere with little or no tourism – ‘benchmarking’ Adjustment for ‘central place’ effects Adjustments for seasonality, self-employment Additional jobs in seaside towns directly supported by seaside tourism Methods

Comprehensive – covers just about all places with seaside tourism Consistent – figures for each resort are comparable Comparable through time – allows trends to be monitored nationally and locally Cost effective – especially compared to visitor surveys Advantages

Average year-round employment directly supported by seaside tourism in 121 resorts in England & Wales , ,000 Source: Sheffield Hallam estimates based on BRES, ABI How many jobs?

Where?

Average year-round employment directly supported by seaside tourism Gr. Blackpool 15,900 Weymouth3,900Southsea 2,600 Gr. Brighton15,200 Scarborough3,800Falmouth 2,600 Gr. Bournemouth13,300 Thanet3,800Minehead 2,500 Torbay10,300 Cleethorpes3,200Bognor Regis 2,300 Isle of Wight 7,900 Hastings/Bexhill3,200Bridlington 2,300 Newquay 5,900 Southend3,000Morecambe 2,200 Gt. Yarmouth 5,400 Weston-s-Mare2,900Folkestone/H 2,100 L’dno/CB/Conwy 5,000 Ingoldmells2,800Clacton 2,100 Southport 4,400 Skegness2,800Tenby 2,000 Eastbourne 4,000 St Ives2,800Whitby 1,900 Source: Sheffield Hallam estimates based on BRES Top 30 resorts

Change in employment directly supported by seaside tourism 2006/8 to 2010/12 BIGGEST WINNERS Greater Brighton+ 3,300 Greater Bournemouth+ 1,200 Torbay+ 1,100 Bognor Regis+ 800 Eastbourne+ 800 BIGGEST LOSERS Southport- 900 Thanet- 1,000 Greater Blackpool- 3,200 Source: Sheffield Hallam estimates based on BRES Job growth and job loss

Prosperity of Greater South East helping Brighton and other South Coast resorts? Hard times in North dragging down Blackpool etc? Shift from traditional B&Bs to less labour intensive hotel chains, especially in Blackpool? Smaller resorts in South West doing well because of middle class appeal? Not simply North-South divide – see Thanet for example? Locational shifts: what’s going on?

Jobs directly supported by seaside tourism, England & Wales, Hotels and restaurants99,000 Retail trade56,000 Campsites & short-stay accom.31,000 Recreation, sport, culture16,000 Amusement parks 5,000 Transport 5, ,000 Source: Sheffield Hallam estimates based on BRES Jobs by sector

Jobs directly supported by seaside tourism, South West68,000 South East49,000 North West25,000 East of England23,000 Wales19,000 Yorkshire & Humber14,000 North East 7,000 East Midlands 7, ,000 Source: Sheffield Hallam estimates based on BRES Jobs by region

Computer software502,000 Higher education 450,000 Insurance & pensions310,000 SEASIDE TOURISM212,000 Telecommunications193,000 Publishing142,000 Motor industry129,000 Aerospace 83,000 Railways 52,000 Pharmaceuticals 41,000 Steel 31,000 Fishing 4,000 Sources: BRES and Sheffield Hallam estimates Employment in selected industries, 2012

Jobs directly supported by seaside tourism212,000 ‘Missing’ places 20,000 ‘Missing’ sectors 10,000 Supported by inland spend of seaside tourists 10, DIRECT JOBS250,000 Jobs in supply chain 50,000 Multiplier effects300, DIRECT + INDIRECT JOBS600,000 Source: Sheffield Hallam estimates Wider economic impact

Jobs supported by seaside tourism: towns/areas with 100,000+ pop. Direct jobs Direct + indirect as % of all jobs Greater Blackpool 15,900 40,00035 Greater Brighton 15,200 38,00023 Greater Bournemouth 13,300 33,00018 Torbay 10,300 26,00040 Isle of Wight 7,900 20,00033 Thanet 3,800 10,00023 Hastings/Bexhill 3,200 8,00015 Southend 3,000 7,00010 Greater Worthing 1,700 4,000 5 Source: Sheffield Hallam estimates Wider impact: largest resorts

The British seaside tourist industry is alive and well, and has so far weathered the age of austerity pretty well No evidence of ‘terminal decline’ – in fact overall employment is growing But there are important locational shifts too Challenge is now to deliver the industry’s full potential in the coming years Some conclusions