Seaside cultural tourism development

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The re-discovery of seaside culture in Kent, UK
James Kennell
University of Greenwich
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(Source Beatty Fothergill 2003)
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Regeneration need

• 1/3 of Kents population live in coastal areas
• Kentish coastal areas have suffered from
  multiple-industry restructuring
• 2004 IMD figures shows coastal towns to be the
  most deprived in the region
• Economic, physical and socio-cultural change
  identified as priorities by RDA and local state

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Kentish resort tourism

• 32m people travel through Kent between the UK and
  Europe each year
• 44m visitors to Kent pa (2005)
• Costal towns contribute more than 70 of Kents
  2.5bn tourism income
• Decline characteristic of UK resorts post-1974

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The turn to culture

• Since mid-1990s, cultural development
  increasingly seen as route to coastal
  regeneration in South-East England
• Examples of destinations as diverse as Whitstable
  and Brighton drive agenda
• Re-emergence of cultural investment as a driver
  of seaside development, after historical break
  from mid-1970s

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Gentrification of Whitstable begins
DCMS grant to improve cultural heritage offer in
Dover
Creative foundation launched in Folkestone
Horsebridge centre opens in Whitstable
Turner contemporary project announced for Margate
Kent
Turner contemporary due to be completed
Folkestone Triennial launch
Folkestone creative quarter
2005
1996
2002
2004
2010
2008
1994
De La Warr Pavillion opens - Bexhill
Culture-led regeneration scheme announced for
Worthing
South East
38m culture-driven regen plan for Hastings
announced
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Case studies

• Governance focus early evidence of fragmented
  strategies and weak regional networks
• Ambition of regional product development
  suggested inter-regional comparisons
• Exploration of issues for future research
• Whitstable
• Folkestone
• Margate

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• Margate
• Local state-driven
• Public-private partnership
• Folkestone
• Neo-liberal
• Local charitable trust / Philanthropy
• Whitstable
• Organic gentrification
• Local state enabling and
• maximising

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Governance impacts

• Folkestone
• Public sector flight social impacts
  under-managed
• High profile / dynamic

• Margate
• Delays consistent with other large capital
  projects in the public sector
• Community perception and engagement high priority

• Whitstable
• Piece-meal developments
• Sustainable cultural change problematic
• Organic, locally-flavoured regeneration

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Governance impacts

• Re-creation and management of space
• Homogenous cultural development and creative
  retail offers

• Diverse governance cultures do not facilitate
  co-development

• Recent macro-economic change will affect each
  scheme differently

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The Kent coastal cultural tourism offer
Integration with regional coastal cultural
developments
Integration with regional non-coastal cultural
offer
Integration with euro-regional cultural offer
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Product development challenges

• Serial reproduction (Richards Wilson 2007)
  generica (Florida 2002)
• Limited understanding of cultural tourist
  behaviours
• Relationship between regeneration and tourism
  development complex at this scale
• Poor inter-resort transport vs. excellent
  extra-regional links
• Diversity of social outcomes may deepen uneven
  development
• Limited exploration of partnership models and
  cluster development