Seasideness: Sense of Place at a Seaside Resort

Abstract

British seaside resorts are associated with the birth of mass tourism and are amongst the most significant leisure spaces since industrialization. Despite sliding down the expanding leisure ‘consumption spaces hierarchy’ within the later decades of the 20th century (Urry 1997:104), they are still significant leisure resources and are a durable element of British culture (Tunstall and Penning-Rowsell, 1998). Whilst the British seaside is often associated with decline, Walton (2000) suggests that observers should instead try to explain its survival. With this in mind, it is perhaps surprising that the motivation of modern day seaside visitors has not attracted more attention from academics. Indeed Tunstall and Penning-Rowsell (1998:331) call for further qualitative research in this area to, ‘deepen our understanding of individuals’ lifelong experiences of coasts, and the meanings they attach to them’.