Despite its popular beaches, landmarks and attractions, some seaside businesses have seen a drop in trade this summer and have put it down to the cost-of-living crisis.
Weston-super-Mare is famed for its stretches of golden sand and landmark pier, making it a popular place for tourists to visit. However, like many seaside towns across the country, it has seen a noticeable drop in visitors this summer which has had a huge impact on businesses in the area.
Earlier this week, we spoke to eight Weston-super-Mare seaside businesses to discuss how the recent summer season has been in terms of trade and tourism. Almost all businesses had the exact same response: visitor numbers have been noticeably down, and customers are spending less money.
Many businesses equated this to the cost-of-living crisis. Alex Michael, the managing director of Revo Kitchen expressed “there’s a lot less buying on whim” this year due to people being “very conscious of money at the minute”.
Alex said: “People are very conscious of money at the minute. With the cost of living and everything else that we’ve been experiencing, I think people want value for their money.
“They’re more than happy to outlay large amounts of money, provided they see value in it and that it’s for an experience or it’s worthwhile. I think there’s a lot less buying on a whim. It’s more like planned days out.”
He added: “Visitor numbers are definitely down compared to last year in the town. The visitors that we are seeing aren’t staying as long as they used to. We’re not seeing as many overnight visitors as we would have done. Before we would have had quite busy breakfast shifts but now they’re very hit and miss.
“While I have been a bit doom and gloom, in reality we have had a good summer. Business has been great and the team have coped with it really well. Working in a seaside restaurant with the weather that we’ve had does have its challenges, it is challenging at moments, but the team have been brilliant.”
One member of staff at Cove West mentioned how this issue is particularly prevalent when the older generations “say no to their grandchildren”, and with families often bringing old “buckets, spades and things to do with the beach” instead of buying new items when they arrive.
They said: “People haven’t got the money and it shows. When people of my age group, grannies, say no to their grandchildren, that’s when you know money is quite tight. People used to buy new buckets, spades and everything to the beach, but now everyone just brings their old things in trolleys. At least that’s my opinion.”
Instead, businesses noted that customers are now spending more money on visits considered “experiential” rather than impulsive. However, this raises an issue for already established businesses, forcing them to continuously reinvent themselves, such as by changing the menu or hosting internal events.
Michelle Michael MBE, the director of the Grand Pier, argued that the “declining number of income due to a declining amount of customers” makes it more difficult to invest money in business reinvention, therefore creating a cycle of stagnant profit increase.
She said: “I think that people are a lot more experiential with their spending. So, if they’ve never come here before, it’s quite a unique environment for them to experience. But in order for us to keep them coming back, we have to reinvent the model.
“I think that people spend money on a great day out, but I don’t think a lot of people want to repeat that day again. But when you’re working with a declining number of income due to a declining amount of customers it’s difficult to invest in ways to reinvent and impress people.”
She added: “There’s been a huge loss of bedroom accommodation in our region. The Pontins site has been taken over by Hinkley, so that’s 500 beds gone. Then we’ve got a hotel across the road, the Grand Atlantic that’s closed for over a year. And then there’s a couple of other parks that have switched from tourists to long term lettings. So as a collective, that makes a huge difference to us because we would get that visitor number coming in and out.
“Also, I would say that our drivetime has reduced from about 90 minutes to about 60 minutes. I think we’re seeing a lot more from more local areas like Gloucester, Bristol, maybe Taunton, Bridgwater, which we didn’t before, but I definitely think it’s switched from an overnight visitor to a day visitor and people who tend to visit are less than two hours away.
“I think this year everyone has the same story, which is if people come to you, they’ll spend some money but the overall number is down and there is an overall feeling of money being tight. I think we’ve had a fantastic boost to it by the weather. But our visitor numbers have been quite considerably down and I think most attractions have been saying that really.”
A manager at Weston Beach Café also mentioned how this is particularly problematic for family-run businesses, which much of Weston’s seafront are, who cannot afford to invest as much money as larger corporations, therefore resulting in many independent businesses struggling to compete with larger companies.
“I think every business would probably say the same, we’re just not getting the customers that we used to,” the manager said. “Especially businesses like us, we’re a family run business, we’re not a corporation and a lot of the businesses here are family run. We depend on people coming to the beach really to make money. We used to be here till about 12:00 every night, we’ve just not really had it this season.”
While all businesses affirmed that the weather is a major factor for seaside business, in terms of visitor numbers this year, a couple businesses mentioned how the major loss of bedroom accommodation in and around Weston, for example the closure of Pontins in Brean and the temporary closure of the Grand Atlantic Hotel, has decreased the number of overnight visitors.
Instead, businesses mentioned how their major demographic could be described as “middle daytime visitors”, arriving at the seaside at around 11am and leaving at 3-4pm. These customers have also been noted to be from more “local areas”, such as Gloucester, Bristol, Taunton, and Bridgwater, which was less common in previous years.
Many businesses were vocally dissatisfied with the town’s ability to host larger events or introduce newer attractions to encourage tourists and visitors. A manager at the Weston Beach Café noted that despite its size, “there’s not really much to do here”.
They said: “It’s a big promenade and we’re quite a big town, but there’s not really much to do here, we only really have the pier. If there were more tourist attractions, they could do a lot more with this town than they do. It all just costs money doesn’t it?”
Arthur, the owner of Nick’s Fish Grill and Dessert, recalled how the now discontinued Weston Airshow and Air Festival used to generate a lot of income for local businesses and that the beach has been lacking a similar source of income since.
Nevertheless, he argued that the beach has “endless potential” and that similar events to the Weston Beach Race all year round would generate a considerable “boost of income”, especially in the winter.
Arthur said: “The beach has endless potential. Why are private organizations or private companies organizing the events here, when Council should do so? For example, the Beach Race. The guy who organizes it has been organizing it for about 25 years and that’s a massive help for Weston. It’s a boost of income for us all and the council should continuously do similar events, regardless of the weather.”
He added: “Weston is a little bit of a different animal. Like other seaside towns we rely on the weather and tourism, unlike places like Bristol. Everything is very seasonal. If Weston had events during winter that brought in more crowds that would be different, but we don’t have that.
“The thing to all of the circumstances and the weather, the season was OK. I cannot complain for the season at all, because as you’ve probably noticed, that was the one of the hottest summers in few years since COVID. And the season was very, very, very good. We had plenty, plenty of response from the locals and from all over the UK, to be honest with you, because you know our main trait is Birmingham, they love Weston and they’re coming in here even when the weather is like it is today.”
Businesses also mentioned how such events would compel the town to advertise themselves outside of its immediate vicinity. Michelle Michael MBE mentioned how the town has not sufficiently restated what Weston-super-Mare has to offer, despite having majorly “changed over the years”. Such advertising would therefore increase tourism, in turn increasing income to local businesses.
She said: “Years ago the council had a huge tourism department and they would go out and say ‘this is Weston-super-Mare’ and then we would go out with them and say ‘here’s a hotel, we’re an attraction, we’re a restaurant, we’re a holiday accommodation’ or whatever, and we’d all sort of jump in together. But overarchingly people would know what Weston is. Although we’ve changed over the years, we haven’t restated our message.”
Staff members and owners also urged the council to improve public transport and parking in and around Weston, with prices often deterring visitors from longer stays. It now costs visitors £14 to park next to the Marine Parade for over 4 hours from March to October, which many businesses have expressed affects late afternoon and evening commerce, therefore pressuring shops and restaurants to close earlier and initiating late customer cancellations.
Despite the challenges that many seaside businesses have faced this season, Weston-super-Mare’s local businesses remain optimistic for the future. Arthur at Nick’s Fish Grill and Dessert urged customers to know that “we are here, and we are here for them”, while a manager at the Weston Beach Café expressed that “our main goal is that we want them to be happy and satisfied”.
When asked what one thing they want people to take away from their business, Arthur said: “That we are here and we are here for them. We’re very, very excited with every single person who is walking up this patio because we’d like to give them the best food and experience, an experience which is completely new and different from other places in town. I really would like to accommodate the guests who come in as much and as best as I can do so. I just want them to be happy.”
Meanwhile, the manager at the Weston Beach Café said: “A smile. We want them to be happy and satisfied. We do try our hardest here to make sure every customer that buys anything or comes into the restaurant always leaves happy and satisfied.”