A town in Dorset has been named among the best seaside areas in the UK. The ranking is based on the number of visitors flocking to the area to appreciate the beaches, high streets and green spaces that the town has to offer.

Our county is home to plenty of scenic seaside towns worth visiting and many of which have been awarded high accolades. Lyme Regis was considered the best seaside town according to the elite Which? list, however this particular Dorset town has also been crowned among the best.

The sunny seaside town of Bournemouth, which sees thousands of visitors flock to the area during the summer, has been ranked the third best seaside town in the UK beating the likes of the Isle of Wight in neighbouring Hampshire and Torquay in Devon. Just missing the top spot, Brighton and Blackpool take the first and second place, respectively.

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The data, compiled by Place Informatics, takes into account the number of visitors between June 2020 to May 2021 and compares these numbers during the June 21 to May 2022 period. Bournemouth has seen a whopping 3.5 million visitor increase.

Between June 2020 and May 2021, the town drew in 8.2 million people, yet in the following year that number jumped up to 11.5 million. It comes as the soaring temperatures managed to bring in more than 100,000 in one weekend, according to Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council.

Below is a full list of towns rated among the best seaside areas in the UK. The data shows the seaside town, the number of visitors during June 2020 and May 21, the number of visitors between June 2021 and May 2022, and the increase of visitors between the two years.

  1. Brighton - 11.5m, 18.2m, 6.7m
  2. Blackpool - 6.3m, 11.5m, 5.2m
  3. Bournemouth - 8.2m, 11.7m, 3.5m
  4. Scarborough - 5.4m, 7.3m, 1.9m
  5. Torquay - 3.1m, 4.8m, 1.7m
  6. Isle of Wight - 3.9m, 4.7m, 1.2m
  7. Weston-super-Mare - 4.5m, 5.7m, 1.2m
  8. Newquay - 1.9m, 3.0m, 1.1m
  9. Llandudno - 5.8m, 6.8m, 1m
  10. Ilfracombe - 720,000, 1.1m, 380,000

The data comes from Place Informatics, which provides footfall and location visitor behaviour data monitoring in the UK. It believes that visitor behaviour insights are the key to managing and regenerating many tourist hotspots, town centres and high streets across the UK.

The data also shows how these popular seaside towns, their beaches, high streets, green spaces, facilities and particular businesses are being utilised and this information gives local councils vital insights to help manage these huge increases in visitors. Parking, resourcing and also increasing local facilities, services and popular businesses for tourists are key to ensuring the towns can manage and understand their visitors.

The insights also show what catchment areas tourists are visiting from and seasonal and daily, weekly and monthly variations, so councils can plan in advance to ensure the towns can cope with their increased popularity. This data is also vital to retailers, hospitality and other local businesses so they can plan for peak periods to ensure that they have the right staff and infrastructure in place.

Clive Hall, CEO of Place Informatics, commented: “It is great to see these popular seaside towns attracting so many more visitors over the last 12 months, but these huge increases can impact local businesses, services and infrastructure if not managed correctly. Our data helps these seaside towns understand their visitors and helps them plan to minimise any negative impact of this increased popularity and ensure these additional visitors are positive for the towns and their businesses.

“We offer local councils and businesses detailed insights to show how visitors are behaving when visiting town centres on a daily basis and also for regular or special events for the public. We can also provide details of the postcode area that visitors have travelled from, giving town centre managers and retailers the information needed to make informed choices and maximise the return from these.”

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