Seaside towns and local enterprise partnerships: domestic tourism in a core periphery context

Kennell, James and Chaperon, Samantha (2011) Seaside towns and local enterprise partnerships: domestic tourism in a core periphery context. In: Proceedings of the ATHE Annual Conference Back to the Future: Restating the Case for Tourism in Higher Education. Occasional Papers of ATHE . Association for Tourism in Higher Education (ATHE), Eastbourne, UK, pp. 63-82. ISBN 9780956877208

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Abstract

Despite their huge popularity as holiday destinations, seaside towns have generally been under-researched. Existing research is limited to narrow historical perspectives and is often focused at a regional level. British seaside towns have suffered a significant decline but there is little attention given to how contemporary issues are likely to shape their futures. For this paper, a sample of British seaside towns that form part of the newly approved Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) are analysed to identify how these new governance arrangements are likely to affect future development in these areas. Core-periphery theory (CPT) is used as a framework within which to analyse these arrangements and to identify potential problems and obstacles. Analysis reveals significant governance issues for seaside towns in terms of structural inequalities and relationships of dependency. The LEPs do not adequately recognise the peripheral nature of seaside towns and the special conditions needed for their development. There is a reliance on outdated growth models and there is a lack of innovation in their approach. From a CPT perspective, the new LEPs do not seem to provide a brighter future for the development of seaside towns.

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