Tourism injects £700 million into the Great Yarmouth economy but traders squeezed by rising cost
Tourism contributed almost £700 million to Great Yarmouth’s economy last year with spending on the 7.5 million visits to the area 10 per cent more than in 2023.
But, despite an upturn in visitors, businesses say they are being squeezed by rising energy and staff costs, while visitors are spending less because of their own cost of living pressures.
Confidence for October half term is fairly high but tempered by uncertainty.
Pressures are leading to businesses increasing their prices and cutting staff.
Businesses point to rising costs delaying investment and building maintenance.
They are calling for an energy price cap, business rates and cuts to VAT on hospitality, tourism, and energy.
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Packed programme of sparks and scares across Great Yarmouth for half-term family fun
From ghouls to fireworks, pumpkins to the scariest aerial circus acts, sea witches to spooky snail trails, Great Yarmouth is briming with scare-tastic activities and fun for all the family for half-term.
A triple spectacular seafront firework display organised by Visit Great Yarmouth revives the summer Big Wednesdays on Wednesday (October 29) with a free mega triple pyrotechnic extravaganza at 6pm.
Free seafront street performances start at 5pm until the fireworks and again after the displays, with the giant Winter Wonderland Birds with their huge illuminated fanned tails – that change colour according to their mood – strutting among the crowds.
The birds will be joined by light-festooned stilt walkers FarenHeight who will dance and mingle with visitors at the centre of the seafront.
Great Yarmouth fireworks upgrade to triple display for autumn half-term seafront spectacular
Visit Great Yarmouth reveal an upgraded triple firework display to the sky over the beach with colour for October half term
Magical giant birds and fiery friends on stilts will roam the seafront entertaining the crowds in exciting street acts
Seafront traders poised to maximise on a busy summer with extra autumn crowds for the free event
A triple fire work display will light up the sky over Great Yarmouth seafront and beach in glorious technicolour in an upgraded half term special event.
Fireworks will be set off from three points on central beach in an evening of family fun complete with exciting street acts entertaining along the seafront on October 29
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Events bolster busy summer in Great Yarmouth
– Visit Great Yarmouth’s free events pulled in the crowds this summer boosting trade for seafront businesses.
– Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach celebrated record customer numbers in its 116-year history on the final Big Wednesday fireworks.
– The only seaside airborne pyrotechnic display in the UK proved a crowd-puller throughout its six-week run.
Summer events organised by Visit Great Yarmouth pulled in the crowds to support seafront businesses record a busy peak three months in challenging trading times.
The draw of Big Wednesday Fireworks led to one of the Golden Mile’s oldest and top attractions, Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach, celebrating its highest customer numbers in its 116-year history.
Attracted by free events like the six weekly fireworks –
Pyrotechnics plane to “paint Great Yarmouth’s sky with colour” in weekly summer fireworks
From the Dubai World Cup and Lisbon Harbour to Great Yarmouth’s Big Wednesdays – spectacular airborne fireworks and aerobatics displays are heading to the seafront this summer.
Visit Great Yarmouth serves up the dynamic new pyrotechnic plane in its weekly summer fireworks programme to draw crowds to the seafront.
The free Big Tuesdays at Hemsby and Big Wednesdays start next week.
Weekly summer fireworks displays are worth £3.3m a year to Great Yarmouth’s economy – for every £1 spent on fireworks last year £22 spent in businesses on and around the seafronts.
The night sky over Great Yarmouth seafront will be painted in technicolour light next week when an airplane fires fireworks in a dramatic aerobatic and stunt display over the sea in the first of six weekly summer spectacles.
TV stars broadcast the best of Great Yarmouth Golden Mile to the nation
Daytime TV viewers across the nation were today treated to some of Great Yarmouth’s best views and seafront attractions when Visit Great Yarmouth hosted presenters Matt Johnson and Jake Quickenden on the seafront.
ITV Daytime chose Great Yarmouth to promote its competition to win a luxury lodge at Lovat’s Waxham Sands and £100,000 cash by 14 short live broadcasts at different locations along the famous Golden Mile.
The best Great Yarmouth has to offer was beamed into the nation’s sitting rooms in live ‘hits’ during Good Morning Britain, Lorraine, This Morning and Loose Women.
Matt Johnson – known for his work on ITV’s This Morning and Channel 5’s OK! TV, as well as his advocacy for mental health awareness – fronted the first broadcast before 7am by the sea behind the Venetian Waterways with Scroby Sands offshore wind farm as a backdrop.
Great Yarmouth’s Wheels Festival 2025 attracts record crowds
Nearly 70,000 people flocked to Great Yarmouth seafront to enjoy its Wheels Festival at the weekend making it the busiest yet
Crowds were treated to more than 1.5km of cars, trucks and motorcycles – from lovingly-restored classic, to souped up novelty vehicles, American cars, and emergency vehicles
The free event served up non-stop action and street acts with world-class headliners motocross team Bolddog FMX, BMXTRAS, the Red Dragon Monster Ride Truck and madcap nun Musical Ruth
The 2026 event date has been set as organisers Visit Great Yarmouth believe the weekend brought positive ‘ripple effect’ economic boost – last year’s event generated £49 for the local economy for every £1 invested
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Full throttle towards Great Yarmouth’s ninth Wheels Festival
More than 60,000 people expected for Great Yarmouth’s ninth Wheels Festival on June 21-22
World-class headliners motorcycle team Bolddog, BMXTRAS and the Red Dragon Monster Ride Truck to deliver non-stop seafront action
Free event delivers significant positive economic – for every £1 invested in last year’s event, £49 was spent in the local economy.
Fast, free and fun – the mega two-day extravaganza of all-things wheels is revving up to take over Great Yarmouth’s seafront again this month attracting tens of thousands of visitors.
The mighty Wheels Festival celebrates its ninth year with a line-up of world-class acts performing jaw dropping stunts, a cavalcade of hundreds of cars from classic to weird and whacky,
Half term family fun hots up in Great Yarmouth
From Angry Birds trails to banger racing, May Play on the farm to Picnic in the Park with top class horse racing and superheroes to favourite seafront attractions, Great Yarmouth’s Whitsun half term offer is bursting with fun, activity and opportunity for all the family.
Back for the 17th year is the spectacle of the weird and way out with the Out There Festival from May 28-31st delivering some of the world’s finest circus and street arts performers across the town, starting with a special Beach event on May 28, evening shows and beach events on May 29 and a packed core festival programme on May 30 – 31.
Expected to attract more than 60,000 people,
Tourism team announces new chairman
A familiar face in tourism is taking the helm as chairman of Visit Great Yarmouth.
Nathan Race, who has been General Manager at Haven Seashore Holiday Park for 14 years, has spent his working life in the leisure and tourism sector and is looking forward to supporting and guiding the future of the organisation, alongside his current role.
He takes over from outgoing chairman Lyndon Bevan, who had held the position for six years.
Nathan said: “I was born in Great Yarmouth and my first job after leaving school was working within swimming pools and leisure. Since leaving further education my working career has been within the industry. I am excited to take up this role supporting Visit Great Yarmouth.”
“My expertise is leading teams and driving successful business outcomes from a team,