Tourism in Blackpool, LancashireAlong with Oxford, Blackpool, Lancashire is one of the most visited small cities in the UK. Located on the Irish Sea, it has only about 140,000 full-time residents. The city became one of the country's premier tourist destinations in the early nineteen-nineties when it welcomed over 17 million visitors each year. Since that time, however, the number of visitors has declined to a still respectable 10 million tourists a year. Why has tourism taken a hit over the past few decades? Well, really it has nothing to do with the city and everything to do with the economy. You see, Blackpool was once the number one destination for factory workers in Northern England. These workers would routinely take their annual holiday in the little resort city. But when these factories started to close en masse at the end of the twentieth century, the tourism trade took a bit of a hit. Recently, however, Blackpool has experienced a resurgence in popularity as more and more international tourists are descending on the city each year. The city has long been a favourite of visitors from Glasgow and other residents of the UK. It is also home to several notable camping sites where Sterling caravans can be seen on overnight or weekend sojourns. The most popular tourist destination at Blackpool is the Pleasure Beach, which is the UK’s most visited free attraction with some six million guests each year. And although tourism has dropped off a bit from its apex, it is still the most popular seaside resort in the United Kingdom. Another great thing about Blackpool is that although it is a small city, it is home to more hotels and vacation rentals than the entire country of Portugal. Think about that for a moment: a small city with a greater number of hotel accommodations than a European country. As you might expect, this means that hotel and apartment rentals in the city are quite competitively priced and can often be booked at the last minute. |