The Westcountry's Victorian seaside towns are in danger of 'decaying and dying' unless something is done to reverse the downward spiral, a leading tourism operator has said.
Destinations such as Ilfracombe in Devon could become "ghost towns" with empty hotels, shops and restaurants, warns John Fowler, of John Fowler Holidays, which operates self-catering holiday centres around the South West.
The tourism leader has called for more support to be given to the locations, which he says are in danger of dying unless something is done.
"These wonderful old Victorian holiday resorts are dying. That is a fact," he said "Once that downward spiral starts, it doesn't stop. And the next thing you see is empty hotels, empty restaurants, empty shops – the whole infrastructure is gone and you end up with a shanty town."
But Malcolm Bell, head of tourism at VisitCornwall, said that while it is a situation shared by some destinations, other have prospered. "It's not a universal truth," he said. "Places like Fowey, Padstow and Falmouth are on the move but then you have others that are still in the middle of a transition that could do with additional support. They are all intrinsically in wonderful, beautiful areas – none of them are beyond rescue."
