Ferris wheel on the Central Pier in Blackpool on the coast of Lancashire in Northern England
Blackpool is heavily dependent on tourism. In what is often regarded as its heyday (1900–1950), Blackpool thrived as the factory workers of northern England took their annual holidays there en masse. Any photograph from that era shows crowds of tourists on the beach and promenade. The town still has more hotel and B&B beds than the whole of Portugal The town went into decline when cheap air travel arrived in the 1960s and the same workers decamped to the Mediterranean coastal resorts due to competitive prices and the more reliable weather. Today Blackpool remains the most popular seaside resort in the UK, however the town has suffered a serious drop in numbers of visitors which has fallen from 17 million in 1992 to 10 million today. Similarly Pleasure Beach Blackpool was the country's most popular free attraction with 6 million visitors a year but has lost over a million visitors since 1998 . In July 2010 an independent survey of 4500 members of the general public by a consumer magazine found that Blackpool is the UK's all-time favourite seaside resort. Fans love the special atmosphere in the town, as well as the spectacular annual illuminations which were described by one respondent as “simply breathtaking”. Blackpool remains a summer entertainment venue, specialising in variety shows featuring a range of entertainers, from 'family friendly' to adults only comic. Blackpool Illuminations consisting of a series of lighted displays and collages arranged along the entire length of the sea front, seven miles (11 km) in total, attract many visitors from late August to early November; a time when most British seaside resorts' holiday seasons have already ended. This results in some spectacular traffic snarl-ups as most people now view the lights from cars and coaches which crawl nose-to-tail along the whole length of the sea front, particularly so at weekends and during school holidays. Each season a famous person turns the lights on in an opening ceremony.
Size: 5030px × 3341px
Location: Blackpool on the coast of Lancashire in Northern England
Photo credit: © Brenda Kean / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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