Blackpool reveals record visitors despite Covid

Blackpool's famous Illuminations season was extended by two months in a bid to boost tourism

Blackpool attracted a record 19 million visitors in 2021 despite Covid, a tourism report has revealed.

The annual STEAM report said visitors were up by 4% on the pre-pandemic year of 2019.

Council Leader Lynn Williams said the "speed and scale" of the recovery after "near catastrophic" restrictions reflected the town's determination.

The authority acted to help tourism, retail and hospitality businesses, she said.

The first four months of 2021 were affected by restrictions due to the pandemic.

But Ms Williams said the council extended the Illuminations season by two months and invested £1m in marketing and events to give the industry a "kick-start".

"Given the near catastrophic impact of those restrictions during 2020 and the first few months of 2021, we were determined to give our tourism and hospitality businesses every opportunity to hit the ground running," she said.

Ms Williams said investing in new events, such as Christmas By The Sea, which ran on the Tower Festival Headland from mid-November to the New Year and included a free skating rink, has "paid off".

The council said that event saw a 75% increase in footfall on the seafront compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019.

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