ABSTRACT
As has been seen, the coastal holiday reached unprecedented levels of popularity between the wars. Various estimates summarized in Tables 5.1 and 10.2 give a rough indication of the scale of growth. A number of resorts received several million visitors a year in the 1930s. Several factors contributed to the expansion of coastal tourism, including the growth of paid holidays. By the late 1930s, some 11-12 million, not including the salaried, were covered by collective agreements which made some provision for paid leave. Many still did not enjoy this benefit but they were helped by a proliferation of holiday saving schemes, which were promoted by trade unions, the cooperative movement, firms and the National Savings Movement (Pimlott, 1976; Walvin, 1978). Mobility increased with improved roads and a rise in car ownership, which reached one person in 26 by 1935. Caravanning and camping by car increased considerably in popularity (Dougill, 1935; Braggs and Harris, 2000; Walton, 2000). Meanwhile coach companies displayed enterprise in transporting people further afield, while the rail companies responded vigorously to these competitive challenges by offering special deals and through other strategies. Most tourists, 62 per cent in 1937 according to one estimate, still made their way to the seaside by rail. The holiday industry, from railway companies to the entertainers, became highly efficient at handling ‘armies of working people from the cities’ (Walvin, 1978, p.107). Despite unsettled economic conditions, holidaymakers managed to travel further and stay longer at the seaside. Weekly stays became common, in contrast to the short excursions that had once been typical of the working-class experience.
