Britain’s seaside towns have enjoyed a bumper financial boost thanks to our heatwave summer, a new report has claimed.
Three-quarters of small and medium-sized tourist businesses – including ice cream sellers, guest houses, cafes and gift shops – say the sunny weather brought a surge in visitors and takings.
But economic experts have discovered that the country’s seaside traders have potentially missed out on a massive £1.5billion due to the poor 5G and bad broadband traditionally suffered by coastal towns.
Financial modelling and research by VodafoneThree – Britain’s biggest mobile network operator – found the average small holiday town business could have made up to £73,708 more this year with better signal and wifi.
And in some major resorts, such as Brighton and Worthing in the south east, traders could have made even more than that.
Thousands of coastal and rural traders across the country lose out on sales because of poor connectivity. And this also often means they do not take card or online payments, discouraging the growing number of customers who never carry cash.
A new report has found that the country’s seaside traders have potentially missed out on a massive £1.5billion due to the poor 5G and bad broadband
The study of 50 seaside towns across the UK found that one in three SMEs felt enhanced connectivity would help them grow their ecommerce, from improving online shopping options to adding services like click-and-collect.
Four in 10 would enhance their Wi-Fi, making it easier for their customers to stay connected, while 3 in 10 would explore AI tools for customer support. This could include virtual help to answer questions faster and automated responses to common enquiries.
Social media topped the SME wish list with 42% wanting to use it more if they had better connectivity.
Andrea Donà, chief network officer at VodafoneThree, said: ‘We know that tourism plays a critical role in boosting local economies across the UK, with improved connectivity accelerating their growth to the tune of £1.5bn a year.
‘That’s why VodafoneThree is investing £11billion to build a network that provides reliable, quality connectivity to all corners of the UK. Our initial sites have been carefully selected to deliver the greatest benefit to customers, particularly in rural and coastal areas where demand surges during the summer months.
‘This means smoother streaming and quicker downloads for consumers, as well as equal access to digital tools to boost productivity and growth for local businesses.’
The Sussex coast stands to gain the most from better connectivity, with four seaside towns leading the list. Worthing tops the rankings, where each tourism SME could unlock up to £200,000 a year, followed by Brighton at £171,000, and Eastbourne and Hastings at around £127,000 each.
These figures reflect the high number of seasonal businesses and strong visitor numbers in these areas, combined with survey data on the extra revenue SMEs believe they could generate with improved connectivity.
Three-quarters of small and medium-sized tourist businesses – including ice cream sellers, guest houses, cafes and gift shops – say the heatwave this summer brought a surge in visitors and takings
The rise of remote work during holidays is also seen as a factor in the rising demand for connectivity. Nearly half of high-street food and drink venues (42 per cent) and hotels (48 per cent) saw more guests extending the long weekend into a working holiday, and 61 per cent say customer Wi-Fi is their top digital essential.
The top 50 resort locations were informed using ONS data in the UK and the Northern Ireland Government tourism website.
It comes as VodafoneThree begins expanding network access across the UK using innovative technology, allowing Vodafone and Three customers to use each other’s networks, at no extra cost.
Where activated, customer devices will automatically connect to the best coverage available – whether that’s on the Vodafone or Three network. This effectively gives customers access to two networks, delivering improved coverage, reliability, and speed when using 4G and 5G.
