By all accounts, domestic travel and tourism within the UK is doing well. Reports by VisitBritain tell us that domestic tourism is generally healthy, although depressed by the cost-of-living crisis. Consequently, while overnight stays are fairly stable, day visits are booming. And coastal or seaside towns continue to be among the most popular destinations for domestic travel, although some parts of the coast (particularly the south west) are more popular than others.

Coolcations?

The usual explanation for the decline of Britain’s seaside resorts was the escape to the Mediterranean, which could offer guaranteed hot weather with which Britain’s traditional resorts could not compete. But in 2026, the Mediterranean became too hot for many British visitors.

France and Spain experienced prolonged temperatures of around 40C and in Spain, the temperature reached 45C in June. Consequently, France, Spain, Italy, Germany and Portugal issued red heat alerts. Many holidaymakers from Northern Europe found these temperatures simply too hot. The problem of high temperatures was exacerbated by wildfires and other extreme weather events.

Thus, we began to see British holidaymakers cancelling their planned trips to the Mediterranean, in favour of cooler destinations. Indeed, the ‘coolcation’ is an emerging trend - for this reason, tourism forecasters predict that destinations like Scotland and the Scandinavian countries will increasingly be sought out by tourists seeking a more comfortable temperature for their holiday.

During the summer of 2026, businesses in some English destinations (such as Whitby) started to actively promote themselves as places to go for a cooler holiday.

Political instability affects international tourism

Further uncertainty resulted from the conflict in Iran. The rising cost of airline fuel pushed up the cost of plane tickets. An increasing number of flights were cancelled altogether. In response, some holidaymakers turned to rail instead. Others delayed booking holidays for fear that the cost of flights would increase by the time of travel. Others revised their holiday trips altogether, opting for a domestic rather than an overseas holiday.

Summer at the seaside?

In this context, informal evidence suggests that Britain’s seaside towns enjoyed a good summer. The hard figures aren’t yet available, and we’ll have to wait for official VisitBritain reports.

Nevertheless, it appears that seaside towns were popular destinations during the summer of 2026. Again, the biggest growth may have been in day visits rather than staying holidays, and we can’t be certain yet that there was a staycation boom.

Significantly, it wasn’t only the “pretty” places (those that make Which?’s dubious list of best seaside towns) that did well. Our traditional resorts such as Clacton, Margate, Great Yarmouth, Blackpool, Brighton, Llandudno, Aberystwyth, North Berwick, Nairn and Portrush all appear to have had a busy and successful summer season.

The government’s ‘Summer Savings’ campaign (a reduction of VAT on holiday businesses during the school holidays that was intended to support the domestic tourism industry) may also have helped. 

What this suggests is that many more visitors will have had the opportunity to experience and enjoy the unique heritage of the UK’s seaside towns during the summer of 2026.