Marine Matters

It is the leisure scene that most people will probably associate the Kent coastline with.

It is estimated that UK residents make over 100 million holiday ‘trips’ of one night or more annually, over fourteen million of which are taken in the south east (two million of these south east visitors are from overseas) with a total expenditure of over £2500 million.

The Isle of Thanet, with its seaside resorts of Margate, Broadstairs and Ramsgate is heavily dependent on the tourism industry boasting 14 sandy bays or beaches covering 26 miles of coastline.

Only three beaches in the south east have been awarded the prestigious European Blue Flag award by the Blue Flag organisation and are to be found in Thanet – Minnis Bay, West Bay and Westbrook Bay. A further nine beaches in Thanet have been awarded Seaside Award flags. 

The pattern of holidays taken by people has changed significantly over the years.

Cheap overseas holidays have had an impact on the traditional two weeks at the seaside that has been the mainstay of the UK tourist industry in years gone by.

Some coastal resorts have adapted to this change better than others and while large tracts of previously thriving seafronts and beaches are now empty compared to years ago the seaside holiday resort is far from dead.

While the destination for our ‘main’ holidays may have changed, people are now taking more short breaks in between, day trips or a long weekends at the seaside are as popular as ever.

Many believe the future of seaside resorts lies in this area. Seaside residents with longer memories will fondly remember ‘Leicester Fortnight’ and ‘Coventry Fortnight’ when whole communities and factories would close down and decamp to the coast.

A typical Sunday in the height of the summer however will still see the regions coastal resorts full to the brim with families. Even the famous London double-decker buses are still to be seen bringing the old traditional boozy ‘beano’ day parties to the seaside – even if they don’t see or remember much of the sea and sand!