Eastbourne - a dynamically changing town
Eastbourne has long been seen as the epitome of the traditional English seaside town - and while that does have its appeal to certain groups of holidaymakers, the town has suffered from the perception of being old fashioned, or lacking in things to do for the younger generations.
The idea of Eastbourne as a town standing still is a misconception: it's one of the UK's fastest growing seaside resorts and the fasting growing town in East Sussex, with under 45's in the town increasing at twice the national rate.
Eastbourne is currently benefitting from enormous investment, with hundreds of millions being spent to improve facilities, create jobs and drive tourism to the town.
An £85m town centre regeneration project began in 2015 (which is due for completion in 2018), to transform the Eastbourne Arndale Centre by providing around 22 new shops, 7 new restaurants and a 9-screen multiplex cinema.
A £1.8million Coastal Communities Fund grand awarded to Eastbourne in 2015 has helped to regenerate the Princes Park area of the town and create 118 jobs in high tech industries, culture and construction.
Work has recently begun on two major development projects, which will undoubtedly drive more tourism to Eastbourne and attract more young families to live in the town.
Eastbourne Borough Council is investing £44million in a transformation scheme of the Devonshire Park, making major improvements to the international tennis centre that is host to the Aegon International Tennis tournament, which is confirmed to remain in Eastbourne until at least 2026.
The transformation scheme will also see improvements made to the Congress Theatre, Winter Gardens and Devonshire Park Theatre - all of which will help to bring more culture, sport and major conferences to Eastbourne.
A brand new £24.5million leisure complex was also approved by the council in December 2016, which will feature three swimming pools including a fun pool and wave machine, a 1,200m2 trampoline park, 130 station gymnasium and clip 'n' climb zone. The project may also include a FlowRider surf simulation machine which would be the only one of its type in the South East.
The most recent figures from Tourism South East value Eastbourne's tourism industry at £388m, and that figure is only set to grow over the coming years.
With international sporting events, six theatres, award-winning contempory art galleries, a year round calendar of festivals and events, fantastic food and drink and of course its famous seafront and pier, it's not hard to see why Eastbourne's popularity is growing among families, under 40s and international visitors.
Jonathan Webley, general manager of five-star seafront hotel The Grand in Eastbourne, said: "Having been at the heart of the Eastbourne tourism industry for more than 20 years, the change I've seen in the town has been astonishing. The investment into improved facilities and the year-round calendar of events is helping Eastbourne appeal to a younger demographic and attracting visitors from around the world. The tourism industry here has never been more vibrant - it's an incredibly exciting time for the town"
The challenge for Eastbourne now is to keep the momentum going, and for the tourism industry and the town as a whole to ensure that the infrastructure is in place to support the growing number of visitors each year, as well as continuing to market Eastbourne as Britains's top seaside town.