Call to end Illuminations extension rejected

A call to ditch Blackpool’s extended Illuminations season because of claims it is not cost-effective has been dismissed by council bosses who have said they provide a massive boost to the resort.

Conservative councillor Graham Baker said the decision to run the Illuminations for an extra two months had diluted visitor numbers instead of increasing them.

He told a meeting of the full council: "I am wondering about the cost effectiveness of the Illuminations, running for four months from the beginning of September to the beginning of January."

However council leader Councillor Lynn Williams rejected his call saying the lights attracted millions of visitors in the summer and winter.

Baker said: "What seems to be happening is visitors are spreading their visits to Blackpool out now over this period, whereas at one time it was a tighter period.

"You used to avoid the Promenade during the Illuminations because it was a nightmare travelling north to south or south to north.

"These days you can go up and down without too much trouble."

'Still really busy'

Baker said he had spoken to hoteliers and they were "not busy" but having to put staff on throughout, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

He said the Fireworks Championships and Christmas by the Sea were big attractions but added: "I’m just wondering if we should be looking at the cost of the Illuminations and whether it would be better to go back to having a break at some point for three or four weeks or maybe just having the Illuminations on at the weekend."

But Williams said there were no plans to axe the Illuminations extension which was first introduced in 2020 to boost tourism during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The display was key to the resort attracting 20 million visitors last year including seven million winter visitors, she said.

She added: "While other tourist towns are shutting down, we are getting going again with the Illuminations."

The council's Christmas by the Sea initiative had been a "massive success" bringing "millions of visitors not just for car parks, but restaurants and all our businesses", she said.

"If you have been down, even in this inclement weather over the last couple of weeks it is still really busy during the week.”