What I mean is, Llandudno is pretty much like a ghost town this year... and those who are coming are spending very little indeed
Sorry, Fester. I believe you're wrong about the first part and almost wrong about the second. The town is no quieter and no busier on average from what we're seeing (there are quiet days and busy days) and our comparisons go back more than forty years, and as for spending maybe they're simply not spending at your place. Or maybe not at the places you frequent.
The weather is arguably
the factor, I think. On the few warm days we've experienced the numbers we've seen have been higher even than mid-season and certainly better than a year ago. But poor forecasts deter impulse tourists, so if the weather ain't slated to be good, they stay at home and do the gardening.
To get the full picture you'd have to have the figures from all the hotels, shops and eateries and not simply odd and necessarily subjective opinions from individuals, but I know that visitor numbers are definitely up overall and, while they may not be spending on the pier they seem to be elsewhere. But we're drifting off topic.
The original post was about the changing tourist trade in Llandudno and the decline in those willing to spend. Interestingly, I seem to have heard that refrain for the past 30 years and it's been almost the same every year. Certainly Fester's been grumbling that things have never been so bad ever since he started on the pier :-)))
The tourist trade is always going to undergo shifts, often on a daily basis, and the demographics are always going to reveal moves but the core business of Llandudno - its appeal to those who enjoy great scenery, the seaside, a pleasantly paced way of life - that's not changed in any way that I can see, and the conference business is still growing healthily. Friends of ours who are accountants confirm that takings in the town since September are generally up. We're also a lot better off in terms of shops that are still open, and that has little to do with Llandudno itself. I seriously doubt the hard-headed bean counters of the likes of the big coffee chains and eateries that have been opening, or the chains willing to spend a fortune upgrading once-derelict hotels would be investing in the town if they believed what some on here are saying.
Fortunately, the
figures reveal that Llandudno still gets the lion's share of a growing market in tourist terms and continues to grow so while some may feel the 'town is a ghost town' maybe that's because they're not in the right spirit... WWW
We have to accept that we're hostages to random meteorological changes but I suspect all the Pythonesque pessimism some on here are exhibiting can be compared to discussions about the weather ("Always had three feet of snow at Christmas when we were kids") and discussions about young people who, it seems, are now rabble beyond control and unlike the model children of yesteryear who never, ever questioned the teacher and were terrified of bobbies.
One final thought: if the punters aren't spending could that be more to do with what is being sold then the punters themselves?
We may be heading for long weekend breaks instead of the 1 or 2 week stay of old
Very, very few folk now stay for more than 4 days, Steve, and it's been that way for a very long time. A big part of the off-season trade comes from some ingenious ideas the hotels provide to maintain numbers. I think the week-long stays probably ended in the mid-'60s, when air travel became cheaper and more popular, but there's a definite shift away from flying (we travel mostly by train or car) simply because the overall nature of the experience is so gruesome.
