Blackpool aims to capitalise on strong rise in visitor numbers

Blackpool is well and truly back this year after visitor numbers were boosted by an estimated 200,000 people last year on the back of a successful summer tourism campaign.

A typical summer's day in Blackpool
Blackpool.
More than 3.5 million adults visited the northwestern seaside resort in the May to August period compared to 3.3m the previous year.

Merlin Entertainments – which runs a host of attractions in the town including The Blackpool Tower, Madame Tussauds and SEA LIFE – together with Visit Blackpool, designed the family-focused awareness campaign to re-energise the iconic resort.

This summer, the partners are further developing their campaign – #BlackpoolsBack – in a bid to capitalise on this growth with a programme of activities and events including the Sky Force at the Pleasure Beach, a new interactive viewing experience in the Tower, and Olly Murs’ arrival as the latest addition to Madame Tussauds.

Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s CATS will also make an appearance at Winter Garden’s Opera House Theatre.

In summer 2014, the partners successfully challenged negative perceptions of the town by promoting it as a traditional seaside break destination.

The campaign underlined the massive investment and regeneration that has taken place in the town over the past seven years.

The campaign received global media attention, not least due to a huge stunt – a Guinness World Record for the world’s largest beach ball – staged on the beachfront with the iconic Blackpool Tower as a backdrop.

This year, the campaign will return to TV on 19th June. Investment will also be allocated to PPC activity, digital advertising, blogger activity and a host of traditional media competitions.

Alan Cavill, director of Place, said: “Blackpool attracts 13 million visitors a year and is the UK’s most visited seaside resort by some distance.

“With year two of the #BlackpoolsBack campaign, we are aiming to re-engage even more families that used to visit the resort, perhaps as youngsters themselves, as well as stimulating new visits from families and younger couples for whom Blackpool is simply not on their holiday radar.

“We will work with independent hotels, restaurants and other business owners to ensure the collaboration has a positive effect across the resort.

“Last year was an overwhelming success – not only boosting summer visitor numbers by 200,000 but also helping to change the perception of the resort among so many people, as illustrated in the satisfaction rates.”

sourced:traveldailymedia.com