The £300m Illuminations Effect: What It Tells Us About Blackpool’s Accommodation Market

Blackpool has never struggled to attract visitors. But for the resort, the bigger economic opportunity is encouraging those visitors to stay longer and spend more. New research into the Blackpool Illuminations provides an interesting insight into just how valuable that can be.

Research published by Blackpool Council in 2026 estimates that visits associated with the Illuminations generate around £300 million for the local economy each year.

For property investors and accommodation operators, however, another statistic is particularly interesting: Two-thirds of surveyed visitors stayed overnight in Blackpool.

So what can the Illuminations tell us about the future of Blackpool's holiday accommodation market?

From Visitors to Overnight Stays

The Illuminations are far more than a free attraction. The research found they were the main reason for visiting Blackpool for 40% of visitors during their 18-week run.

Among those surveyed:

• Two-thirds stayed overnight

• 82% of those staying spent more than £100 on accommodation

• One in five spent £500 or more on accommodation

• Staying groups spent an average of around £400 per visit

• 88% said they intended to return to see the Illuminations again

Visitors also spent money elsewhere. Seven in ten respondents said the Illuminations led them to visit and spend with other Blackpool attractions and venues. That's important because the economic value of tourism isn't simply getting somebody onto the Promenade. It's giving them enough reasons to turn a visit into a stay.

Extending Blackpool's Tourism Season

The Illuminations also help Blackpool address one of the biggest challenges facing any coastal destination: seasonality. Their extended 18-week run brings visitors into the resort well beyond the traditional summer peak.

And the Illuminations aren't operating in isolation. Blackpool has shows, conferences, dance competitions, sporting events, Christmas attractions and an established entertainment offer that can create reasons to visit at different times of the year.

For serviced accommodation investors, understanding these different sources of demand is potentially more important than simply looking at annual visitor numbers.

Does Blackpool Actually Need More Accommodation?

This is where the picture becomes more interesting.

Blackpool Council's own planning guidance acknowledges that the resort already has more holiday accommodation bed spaces than it needs, with some accommodation businesses operating at marginal levels. So despite Blackpool attracting millions of visitors, the investment opportunity isn't necessarily about creating more beds.

It's about creating better places to stay.

Blackpool has a substantial legacy stock of hotels, B&Bs and guest houses. Many are successful businesses, but some were designed for a very different era of British tourism.

Visitor expectations have changed. Guests can now instantly compare Blackpool accommodation with hotels, apartments and holiday properties across the UK and overseas.

For families and groups in particular, a well-designed self-contained apartment can offer something different: separate bedrooms, good bathrooms, a kitchen, comfortable living space and somewhere that feels part of the holiday rather than simply somewhere to sleep.

Quality Over Quantity

For property investors, that creates an interesting opportunity.

Rather than asking: How many beds can we fit into this building?

Perhaps the better question is: What would make somebody choose this property, pay an appropriate nightly rate, leave a strong review and come back?

That changes the investment approach.

It becomes less about buying a cheap property and putting it onto Airbnb and more about identifying the right property, in the right location, with the right planning status — and creating an accommodation product that meets modern visitor expectations.

Planning is particularly important in Blackpool, where the Council actively manages the location and use of holiday accommodation. Purchase price, refurbishment costs, achievable nightly rates, occupancy, operating costs, competition and exit strategy all still need to stack up.

What Does the £300m Tell Us?

For us, the most interesting thing about the Illuminations research isn't actually the headline £300 million. It's what sits underneath it.

A major Blackpool attraction is influencing travel decisions, generating overnight stays, increasing spending with other local businesses and encouraging repeat visits — largely outside the traditional peak summer season.

Blackpool already has a huge visitor economy. The opportunity is not necessarily to create more accommodation for those visitors.

It's to give them better reasons to stay — and better places to stay when they do.

For investors and developers prepared to focus on quality, location and genuine visitor demand, we believe that creates some interesting opportunities.

At Collaborise Property Group, that's the type of value-add property opportunity we help investors find and develop across Blackpool and the Fylde Coast.