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8 CHAPTER 1 · INTRODUCTION – THE UNIQUE EVOLUTION OF TOURISM AS ‘BUSINES S’

Case 1.1 Scarborough – a case of transformation

Scarborough is unique among UK spas in that not only does it have an early history as a spring-based min-
eral-water spa, but it survived the decline of such spas by transforming itself into a seaside spa – its
possession of both spring water and sea water made it unique.
Granville’s Spas of England, first published in 1841, describes Scarborough as ‘the Queen of English
sea-bathing places’ and, while noting the facilities for sea-bathing, refers in detail to the two medicinal
water springs which had been exploited since the seventeenth century. Facilities for visitors wishing to ‘take
the waters’ from these springs had evolved in a similar way to those at the major inland spas such as Bath
and Tunbridge – Assembly Rooms for social events, a Pump Room, a theatre, all presided over by a resi-
dent Master of Ceremonies. By the beginning of the nineteenth century, however, sea-bathing and drinking
sea water had come to the fore, and bathing machines had spread along the beach.
Scarborough was thus well established as a destination by the time the railway arrived in the form of a
branch line from York, then as now a major railway junction, in 1845; it was one of the first seaside resorts
to be served by train. This proved to be a major influence on the scale of tourism development at
Scarborough; its population grew from roughly ten thousand people in 1851 to more than thirty thousand
by 1891. As the town grew, it developed all the major facilities and infrastructure that characterised British
seaside resorts of the Victorian and Edwardian heyday:

● horse-drawn buses and a tramway system;

● cliff railways – four cable-hauled systems were built at Scarborough over the years to connect the town
with the beach below;
● ‘grand hotels’ – many still operate, such as the Grand, the Royal and the Crown, although the market-
ing tag today tends very much to be ‘restored to its former glory’;
● an elegant crescent for those who wanted to take up residence in Scarborough on a grand scale;
● an esplanade to allow holiday-makers to stroll along the sea front;
● a pavilion – the first was designed by Sir Joseph Paxton, designer of London’s Crystal Palace, but this
burned down in 1876, to be replaced by the present Spa Pavilion;
● a pier – opened in 1869, Scarborough’s pier was destroyed by a storm in 1905 and never rebuilt;
● a tower – opened shortly after Blackpool’s, in 1897, but rather shorter and destined to survive only ten years;

and in more recent times:

● a miniature railway;
● a theme park – Kinderland;
● a mass of machine arcades, restaurants, nightclubs and souvenir shops;
● theatres – the Stephen Joseph Theatre and the Futurist Theatre.

As the twentieth century progressed, there was a gradual shift from an image of grandeur to one of sheer
scale. The railway continued for many years to be a major element in the success of Scarborough as a desti-
nation. Picking up Granville’s theme, the railway company which served Scarborough promoted it as ‘Queen of
Northern Watering Places’. A direct service from London was introduced under the brand ‘The Scarborough
Flyer’. To cater for such large numbers, Scarborough station boasted the longest station seat in Britain!
The availability of cheap package holidays in the Mediterranean during the last third of the century saw an
inevitable fall in numbers of visitors. Scarborough was forced to reposition itself and redesign the tourism prod-
ucts it offered. This saw a growing market in weekend breaks, a growth in conference tourism – the Spa
Complex, with its Grand Hall offering a capacity of 2000, was well positioned to make this switch – and an
emphasis on heritage. Even the railways responded to this, establishing a heritage steam-train service from York.
In 2002 Scarborough won the English Tourism Council’s Gold Award for Most Improved Resort, perhaps
an indication both of how much it previously declined as well as of how much it had achieved in restoring
its earlier status as a destination.
Sources: Various

For such mass tourism to emerge, four conditions had to be met:

Sufficient leisure time

The fulfilling of this condition came about in two phases. With the rise of industrial cities
and a move from agricultural work to factory work, the traditional day of rest on a