Living in a seaside town like Southport can be a beautiful experience.
But it’s also challenging to navigate the effects of tourism and how it can negatively impact the health and hygiene of beaches like Formby.
Another challenge is ensuring that local businesses, which often contribute to the success of seaside towns like Southport, receive support to continue to be sustainable through economic challenges like COVID-19.
This article tackles these challenges and many others that are commonly encountered within seaside towns. Read seven ways to keep your seaside town beautiful all year round, conserving wildlife, beaches, and local businesses.
1. Organize Monthly Beach Clean-Ups
Beaches are beautiful natural resources, but this characteristic makes them tourist hotspots. And an influx of tourists, whilst it offers a cash injection to local communities, can lead to litter and environmental damage.
Beach communities need to pay back for the tourism beaches bring by organizing monthly beach clean-ups to protect the environment that seaside towns like Southport depend on for their income.
Make a rota to spread the time and energy needed to clean beaches fairly between locals, and make a social media group to discuss news and progress. It’s also useful to form recycling partnerships with local recycling businesses to make money from clean-up efforts that can be spent on events which increase the unity of clean-up communities.
2. Support Local Coastal Businesses
Local businesses create the identity for small seaside towns, but don’t always receive the support they need to remain sustainable.
When one of these businesses collapses, others follow, and a distinctive town soon loses its appeal and unique identity as local businesses are replaced by generic chains. This ripple effect extends to the negative effect on tourism, and soon, a town loses its income, which is largely dependent on tourism.
Locals can promote and support their own and other local businesses by buying locally, promoting them online, attending community events, sharing reviews, and encouraging collaborations that strengthen the seaside economy.
3. Encourage Plastic-Free Living
Plastic waste can be a huge problem for seaside towns, but the best way to tackle this issue is to nip it in the bud. How? Encouraging plastic-free living across every shop, hotel, and beach vendor so tourists and locals don’t use plastic in products they buy, which leads to less plastic waste.
Going completely plastic-free is a huge challenge and takes years to achieve. But businesses can begin with easy swaps like selling only reusable water bottles, beach-safe packaging, and water refill stations. Seaside cafes can lead the way by using biodegradable straws and compostable containers.
4. Protect Dunes and Wildlife Habitats
Native plants and dune systems are often a resource that locals of seaside towns like Southport feel passionate about preserving. They make it a pleasure to live in such towns for locals, and they draw in tourists.
Beach towns can protect local wildlife and sand dunes by installing clear signage, hosting educational walks, and using wildlife-safe lighting. These actions raise awareness, reduce human disturbance in nesting areas, and help preserve fragile coastal ecosystems for future generations.
5. Maintain a Digital-First Responsibility Mindset
The livelihood of a seaside town doesn’t just depend on local business and nature. It’s also essential to consider how to use technology to promote a digital-first responsibility mindset for better security and privacy.
Social media is essential for promoting local businesses, but it also comes with a responsibility. British towns can learn from other countries like Australia, which use an Australia VPN to browse securely while accessing local conservation sites or community portals, ensuring privacy and cyber safety when promoting local tourism online.
6. Beautify Shared Spaces with Art and Greenery
The most beautiful seaside towns in England are the ones that attract and retain tourists year after year.
Southport needs to continue to strengthen its seaside identity through community art projects, colorful mural walls, and public garden initiatives. These creative efforts celebrate local culture, attract visitors, and encourage residents to take pride in preserving the town’s coastal charm year-round.
Conclusion: Small Actions, Lasting Impact
Across activities like supporting local businesses, keeping beaches clean, and beautifying areas with nature and art, there are many challenges to keeping a seaside town like Southport beautiful and attractive for tourists.
However, if locals start small with tiny actions, they can make a lasting impact with the ‘little and often’. Swapping plastic items for glass or other easily recyclable packaging and each local contributing a few hours a month to clean beaches can make all the difference to keeping Southport beautiful, clean, and attractive.