How has Tourism changed in Blackpool changed since the 19th Century?
- Blackpool’s growth up to the 1950s
Blackpool was a small fishing village for most of the 19th century, with only small numbers of visitors due to the supposed healing properties of the coastal area. In 1846, a railway line was built up to Blackpool, which made travel to the area cheap and accessible to most people. Most holidaymakers were factory workers and their families from the nearby Liverpool and Manchester. Factories would shut down during the summer, and the whole workforce would go on a coastal holiday with their family. Air travel was very expensive and only the very rich could afford to go on holidays abroad. Blackpool grew as tourist destination and proceeded to build great visitor attractions such as the North, Central and South Piers in 1863,1868 and 1893. Pleasure Beach was the name given to the coastline of Blackpool, and this this was further expanded when small businesses set up along the stretch between the North and South piers, to take advantage of customers from Blackpool Station. The Winter Gardens were set up in 1878, as a sort of 5 indoor mall complex, with a Theatre and Opera House, meaning that Blackpool was a popular destination no matter the weather. This, in conjunction with the introduction of the Blackpool Illuminations in 1879 and the construction of the Blackpool Tower in 1894, containing a Ballroom, Circus Hall and Aquarium, as well as the Golden Mile which now incorporated the Sea Wall Promanade, with many rides and amusements meant that Blackpool became even more of a tourist hotspot, and its changing atmosphere meant that it received many returning visitors. in 1930, Blackpool had 7 million annual visitors, three times that of the next largest tourist resort, and in 1950, there were 17 million annual visitors.
