UK seaside town that’s begging for more tourists before it’s too late

A once popular seaside town in East Sussex is at risk of becoming a ghost town with business owners begging for more tourists.

Hastings is a historic seaside town nestled on the south east coast. Despite offering many attractions such as the East Cliff Railway, Hastings Pier, long stretches of beautiful coastline and ample restaurants and cafes, hardly anyone appeared to visit this year.

Local businesses say they have seen a major drop in sales in 2024, down year-on-year since the post pandemic boom.

The manager of Hastings Adventure Gold, Simon Tompkins, explains how the season has been “tough” due to “tourist numbers [being] lower” than previous years.

He told Express.co.uk: “We had a nice boom after Covid when no one was going abroad but after that it just sort of dwindled off with the cost of living crisis.

“We are missing the numbers, people are not coming in the droves that they were originally. People will return once the mortgage rates drop and when electricity bills return to a more sustainable level.”

Simon says how the visitation numbers have historically been high, yet they have “dropped off a cliff” due to no one “spending money”.

According to reports from Rye News, Hasting’s tourism industry generates around £385.9 million annually, supporting around 7,030 local jobs. Many of these businesses are seasonal, relying on Summer earnings to support them throughout the year.

However, one sweetshop owner on the seaside front says they have seen a “50% decrease in sales” this Summer season, hanging on by a thread to stay profitable.

“All I will say is that it has not been good. There’s been a huge drop in customers. We rely heavily on tourists and we’ve seen a 50% decrease in sales. People usually come to visit us down on daytrips three or four times a year but they only came once this year. Everything is too expensive,” he says.

Like Cornwall and Kent, staycations became increasingly popular after Covid with restrictions on overseas travel, causing a major boom to UK seaside towns. Hasting’s is a popular destination for daytrippers coming from London taking just 90 minutes by train.

However, the recent cost of living crisis has reportedly halted many people from spending money on days out, severely damaging businesses that rely on visitors. Fish and chip shop owner, Lule Durkay, echoed this saying “people are saving, saving, saving”.

“The cost of everything is so much, the supplies are expensive. We used to be cheap but not anymore. Our fish and chips have gone up in price because the fish, the chips, this, that, it all has gone up in price,” says Durkay.