Butlins boss: Brexit can 'unlock potential' of seaside towns

The managing director of Butlin's has called on the Government to "unlock the potential" of the UK's seaside towns in the wake of the vote to leave the EU.

Dermot King was speaking as families mull future holiday plans, in the knowledge that the fall in the pound's value since the referendum has made in-resort spending abroad more expensive.

But while he would hope many would choose a 'staycation' at one of his firm's three holiday camps - Mr King acknowledges that many seaside communities are suffering from decades of low investment.

He said of the referendum result: "When you boil it down, the biggest feeling that was not being represented is that the economy is not working for them.

"That is exaggerated more in seaside towns than anywhere else where the economy has generally been performing poorly against the rest of the country.

"Tourism itself and seaside towns themselves are a big challenge because the fact of the matter is if you come from a seaside town you're more likely to be unemployed, you're more likely to have a poor education and you're more likely to be on lower-level social housing."

While tourism is the fourth-biggest employer in the country already - it is also the sixth-biggest exporter.

While the cheap pound makes a holiday in the UK more attractive to overseas' tourists, the industry argues that Government investment alongside a cut in VAT on tourism would help boost the country's competitiveness.

"The fact of the matter is we're three-times more expensive than Germany and twice as expensive as France when it comes to VAT," Mr King said.

Butlin's, famed for its Redcoat entertainers and which recently celebrated its 80th birthday, has been investing millions in modernising its own offering, including family-friendly chalets, activities and its food.

But it argues tourism alone, at current levels, cannot transform seaside communities back to their 1930s heyday.