South East businesses enjoy boost over warm bank holiday weekend

Thousands of people flocked to the South East, providing a much-needed boost for firms on the first Easter without restrictions since 2019.

The increase in visitor numbers was a welcome relief to business owners still counting the cost of the pandemic.

Brighton Palace Pier chief executive Anne Ackord said: "It was wonderful to see so many people out and about."

However, Tourism South East said overseas visitors were still lacking despite a "very positive" Easter.

Speaking to BBC Radio Sussex, its chief executive, Fran Downton, said domestic travellers were continuing to enjoy staycations and the region was "at capacity" accommodation-wise.

"This has played out to be a really, really positive Easter and a really good start to the season," she said.

Ms Ackord said visitors to the pier in Brighton were "blessed with the weather" and it was "wonderful to see so many people out and about after such a long and difficult time".

She said the city was no doubt helped by travel disruption elsewhere.

"People were seeing the huge queues of traffic going down to Dover, the airport chaos - and that helped us because they came into Brighton and other seaside resorts instead," she said.

Jon Adams from Gelato Gusto in Brighton said the bank holiday weekend was "probably the best we have had for a long time" and had left him hopeful it was going to be a "really busy" summer.

Laurence Bell, manager of the White Rock Hotel on Hastings seafront, said it was "absolutely packed" in the town and the hotel had been "really busy".

"It's been a real boost," he said.

However, Ms Downton said overseas visitors were still largely absent.

"In 2019, our overseas visitors were worth £2bn to the region. We were 90% down on that last year.

"It is predicted that we will get possibly 50% within this year but we do need to encourage our overseas visitors back."

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