The sun was shining on tourist attractions over the Easter weekend as bumper crowds came out to enjoy traditional seafront amusements and rides, providing much-needed revenue for traders.
Businesses in Felixstowe reported a good four days of trading, with numbers beating pre-pandemic levels, spurred on by warm sunshine, with unseasonal temperatures of nearly 20C.
The annual Easter funfair has also been in town, occupying a site in Sea Road close to the leisure centre and offering a variety of entertainments, including a bouncy castle and dodgems.
Paul Hedges, the fair’s organiser, said: “It has been fairly busy overall. It is good to be back and open again because we lost the last two years because of lockdown.”
Stan Harris owns Ocean Boulevard family fun park further along Sea Road, which offers Go Karting and the Railroad Express mini train ride, along with a variety of kiosks selling ice creams, drinks and other treats.
He believed the town was continuing to benefit from the ‘staycation’ trend that developed during the Covid pandemic, with more people choosing to holiday at home than abroad because of travel restrictions.
He added: “It has been a good year because the weather has been on our side. People still aren’t going abroad and I think the last couple of years with Covid, people have done the staycation thing for Easter.”
A lot of tourist destinations were doing well, Mr Harris said, with Felixstowe being well placed because it was especially popular with day-trippers who travelled from across the country.
“It is a nice little family-friendly resort, Felixstowe - and word is getting about. We have had a lot of different people coming from all parts of England,” he added.
Charles Manning, owner of Manning’s Amusement Park in Sea Road, said his seafront attraction had had a busier Easter period than prior to the pandemic, saying trade had been "non-stop" during the park’s 9am to 7pm or 8pm opening hours.
He said: “It has been really busy all day long. It has been really positive to see so many people and we have had really good weather as well, so it has been a really good start to the season.”
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