Blackpool beats London for long weekend breaks

A study of 6,000 hotels and guest houses in the UK showed the resort came out top in 2017 for such mini-holidays.

And online booking firm Eviivo says that bookings for this summer nationally are already up 10.3 per cent year on year.

The organisation says that it is seeing a renaissance in B&Bs which it says is due to the emergent popularity of independent British accommodation providers and the weaker pound, which is acting as both a deterrent for international travel and a magnet for inbound tourist traffic.

Blackpool has topped the list of places to spend a long weekend

The figures for long weekends put Blackpool at the top of the list with sea-side resorts dominating the top 20 booking destinations.

London was second followed by Edinburgh, Torquay and York.

Claire Smith from hoteliers group Stay Blackpool welcomed the news and attributed it to Blackpool’s improving offer to visitors, investment in the town and the big events the resort is attracting.

She said: “We are seeing a trend of longer stays. Particularly last year we saw weekends being extended to three days stays. There are several reasons, the terrorism abroad and in big cities, the weakness of the pound and the uncertainty over Brexit and the economy. People are having to budget.

“But Blackpool is improving. The resort pass is a big thing. It allows families to budget and spread the cost of a visit – they can buy it in February and use it when they come later.

“We have also got the fabulous shows at the Winter Gardens, Grand Theatre and of course at the Tower Headland which really do add value to people’s stay and encourage people to stay longer. Will Smith last year was amazing and now this year we have Britney.

“Put all that together and people can see that Blackpool is the place to be.”

Ruth Whitehead, Director at Eviivo, said: “Long weekend breaks, romantic or otherwise, provide an all-important punctuation mark for British workers. Many of the UK’s more traditional holiday destinations, such as Blackpool are enjoying a real renaissance.”