Help our Great British Coast reach its potential

Over the course of the summer, millions of us will visit the Great British Coast and enjoy a day by the sea.

In fact, the Coastal Tourism in 2016 reportshows that the seaside has regained its position as the most popular overnight holiday stay location for Brits - comprising nearly a third of all trips.

While it’s clear we’ve fallen back in love with our coast, it’s important that coastal community teams, local businesses, councils and local people don’t rest on their laurels.

Seaside tourism already brings in £8bn a year to UK PLC but this report shows that there are still massive opportunities to grow. That’s why last month, we put £90 million up for grabs in the latest round of the Coastal Communities Fund . That’s on top of the £120 million we’ve already put in – money which will create or protect 18,000 jobs along our shore.

The new funding round for England closes on 30 June and I’d encourage you to get your bids in now. My Department is also holding its first ever Great British Coastal Conference in Brighton on the same date.

So if you care about helping our seaside areas reach their enormous economic potential which this report demonstrates, I hope to see you there.

By Mark Francois

Minister of State Communities and Local Government

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You can access the full 2016 Coastal Tourism report for free on our Resource Hub