The Great Storm of 1987 full story...
Doing the Undercliff Walk full story...
Take Three Piers full story...
An abc of Web Design go there...
The Digital Canvas go there...
Garden Wildlife full story...
Tom Russell Hits Town full story...
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Street Theatre During the Brighton Festival |
The business side of tourism is awash with numbers, statistics, facts and figures. Apparently there is an insatiable need to measure pleasure. Brighton is an historic tourist resort, with two and a half centuries of tourist history. Tourism is the city's third oldest industry, after fishing and farming. Of course, farming is no longer a part of the economy, apart from a few council-owned tenant farms.
In the mid eighteenth century Brighton was a declining fishing town when Dr Russell of Lewes set up shop at what is now the Royal Albion Hotel, and turned brighton into a health resort with his new-fangled sea water cures. Entertainment soon became as important as treatment, and when the Prince Regent decided to build himself a seaside palace in the town, Brighton's course was set. The arrival of the railway in 1841 turned the town into a mass tourist destination.
But Brighton has always had to reinvent itself in order to stay ahead in the tourist game, and the current civic and business leaders of the city are well aware of this imperative.
Tourism today in all its shapes, guises and disguises is an important part of national economic activity. Nationally, tourism accounts for 3.5% of economic activity, £74.2 billion (in 2003). In 2005 there were 30 million overseas visitors. There are about 1.4 million tourist jobs (5% of the total) which is more than in construction or transport.
"By 2014 we want to be …
An international seaside city on a human scale
Proud of and defined by its difference
Original, independent, alternative
Creative, vibrant, exciting
Relaxing, refreshing, invigorating, inspiring
Young at heart – and for the young at heart
Trendsetting, innovative, and in tune with the zeitgeist."from the City Council Tourism Strategy 2004
The Numbers |
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| Total number of visitors to the city | 8 million+ per year |
| 2nd most popular destination for foreign tourists after London in 2005 | 155,000 foreign tourists |
| Royal Pavilion visitors | 320,000 per year |
| Brighton Pier visitors | 3.75 million per year |
| England's largest arts festival - in May | 700+ events over 3 weeks |
| Restaurants - more per head than anywhere else in UK but London | 400+ |
| Brighton Centre visitors | 750,000 per year |
| Number of jobs - direct and indirect | c13,000 (7,000 F/T) |
| Economic value of tourism | c£380m per annum |
| Brighton is regularly a top ten destination in various tourist surveys | eg Observer Travel Awards 2005 |
| Hotels and guest Houses | 115 |
| Bed spaces in hotels and guest houses | 10,000+ |
| Total no. of conference delegates - 2005 | 200,000+ |
| No. of bedding plants grown in council nurseries | 250,000+ |
