Rail strikes: Blackpool concern over revenue loss

The resort attracts millions of visitors across the year

Blackpool's tourist sector has expressed concern about the impact of rail strikes as there are no services through the town on Saturday.

It is among many seaside destinations cut off from the network during the third day of strikes this week.

Alan Cavill, from Blackpool Council, said: "We'd expect maybe 25,000 people to come by train today and they're not going to be able to do that."

Rail workers have been holding strikes in a dispute over pay and job cuts.

Blackpool Council said the resort could lose about £1m in visitor spend on Saturday due to the industrial action.

Rail services have been severely disrupted in a pay dispute

Mr Cavill, who is head of tourism at Blackpool Council, said the strikes' impact could also be intensified as the popular resort had experienced a 20% rise in train use compared with 2019, which he attributed to the cost of fuel.

"The immediate effect is clearly going to be on those that rely on some of the day-to-day trade like ice cream parlours, fish and chip shops, arcades, street food vendors and so on, who traditionally do really well in the weekends at June."

He said this summer should be "a real opportunity to make a recovery" after the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Hotelier Claire Smith told the BBC she had "lost a third of business this weekend at two properties".

The Lancashire town saw a 75% rise in footfall in the last quarter of 2021, when more than 17 million people visited, compared with a little more than 10 million in 2019, according to council figures.

RMT members are striking for the third day this week

The strike has been called by the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT), which has tens of thousands of members.

It says a 2% pay rise proposal, with the possibility of a further 1%, was "unacceptable", with inflation forecast to reach 11%.

Network Rail said it would offer a pay rise above 3%, but only if the union agreed to modernise working practices.

The RMT has not announced any further strike dates, but says industrial action will continue for "as long as it needs to", which has drawn criticism from Transport Secretary Grant Shapps who said the union was "damaging people's lives".

Katie Barnfield, BBC business reporter, Blackpool

Blackpool Promenade hosts various events through the summer

The real worry is for those businesses that rely on tourists coming just for the day.

It's a bit more of a mixed picture for overnight stays.

Some hotel owners say they have had some cancellations this week. But some have had said they have not had any, and had not noticed any impact.

There are signs that there has been a bit of an increase in coach bookings for Blackpool today.

I've spoken to some café owners who say their takings are down 50-60% this week.

More than previously, a lot of people including businesses here can see why RMT members are going on strike, because everybody is feeling the pinch.

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