July’s Tourism Matters: Business Workshops and Industry Highlights

It is hard to believe we are nearing the summer school holidays. The year is flying by, and we have certainly enjoyed some wonderfully warm weather recently.

This month find out how you can join National Rail’s Days Out Guide and book your place at our September visitor survey workshops. We are celebrating the success of some local businesses and inviting you to cast your vote for Margate’s Shell Grotto. You will also find updates from Thanet District Council.

We wish you all a successful and busy summer season.

VisitEngland’s ‘My coast has the most’  Campaign
Between Monday 29 June and Sunday 5 July, VisitEngland ran a national campaign, ‘My coast has the most…’, aimed at driving summer staycations and highlighting the incredible diversity of the English coast. It invited tourism businesses, destinations and industry partners to get involved.

If you missed it on our social channels, you can catch our video here

Facebook – Reach 5437, 165 interactions, 33 shares (Stories 432 Views, 13 interactions)
Instagram – Reach 1,972, 115 interactions, 8 shares (Stories 179 views, interactions 3)

Thank you to the local businesses that also got involved
No.42 Margate by Guesthouse Hotels
Stagecoach

Please help with sharing messages
The current heatwave has brought a fantastic surge of visitors to our beautiful coastline.

To help manage this influx, ensuring everyone enjoys our beaches safely and sustainably is our top priority.

You may have already spotted our recent messaging on social media (@visitthanet on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok). We are regularly sharing essential guidance on respecting our coast and staying safe in the sun, and we will continue to roll out this content over the coming weeks.

Please keep an eye out for these posts. We highly encourage you to share them directly or adapt our messaging to use on your own channels so we can reach as many visitors as possible. Key messages are:

• Encouraging movement along the coast and enforcing there is room for everyone- 16 designated beaches and bays, 19 miles of coastline.
• Staying safe in the sun, particularly in regards to water safety.
• Respecting our beaches- parking responsibly and looking after the beach.

Finally, we have a dedicated page on our website to link to, please share this, it’s for businesses to use as well as for visitors: www.visitthanet.co.uk/coastalvisits

Thanet District Council will be sharing posts from national partners and campaigns with more tips on staying safe by the water, coping with extreme heat and more. Please do share these too. Thank you for your cooperation with this.

Open daily now – Visitor Information Services Opening Hours 
The Thanet Visitor Information Centres and kiosks are open throughout July and August for local advice or information:

• Margate (Droit House): Daily 10am to 5pm
• Broadstairs (Promenade Kiosk): Daily, 10am to 4pm (weather permitting)
• Ramsgate (The Custom House): Daily 10am to 4pm

Have you done our Accessibility Ambassadors course?
We are pleased to see so many of the industry have completed our new Accessibility Ambassador course. If you and your teams haven’t yet, we encourage people to sign up. It takes just under an hour to complete and gives you the confidence and understanding in supporting visitors with access needs.

Once you have completed the FREE course, you will receive a certificate and can claim an Accessibility Ambassador badge. Sign up today at www.thanetvisitorambassador.co.uk

Unlock Thanet’s Visitor Secrets – Workshops for Business Growth
In 2025 we conducted valuable visitor research to better understand the people visiting Thanet.

We will be running three workshops, one each in Margate, Broadstairs and Ramsgate, specifically designed to help you translate the research into actionable town-specific steps to help you maximise engagement during the autumn and winter months.

Places are limited to 20 at each workshop running 10.30am – 1pm, details as follows:

• Thursday 17 September at San Clu Hotel, Ramsgate
• Tuesday 22 September at Pierremont Hall, Broadstairs
• Wednesday 23 September at Droit House (Thanet Visitor Information Centre), Margate

The interactive sessions will be led by Marketing Consultant Bryony Bishop from BeeBee Communications. Contact tourism@thanet.gov.uk to book your place

Joint agency action for recent beach incidents
As we move through the busy summer months, we want to acknowledge the recent concerns raised by our local tourism community regarding high visitor volumes, antisocial behaviour, and the impact these have on our coastline, particularly in Margate and Broadstairs.

We understand how vital the family market is to your businesses and share your desire to protect our district’s reputation. Please be assured that the council is actively listening and taking these matters seriously.

To ensure our beaches remain safe and welcoming, we are doing all we can to manage the coast during this peak period. We are working in close partnership with Kent Police and using our recently adopted Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) to tackle disruptive behaviour effectively. Furthermore, we are attending regular partner agency beach safety meetings alongside regular internal beach management meetings to coordinate our response and support the district during the busy summer period.

Thank you for your continued resilience as we work together to look after our beautiful coastline.

Margate Town Council Approval
Following overwhelming public support, Councillors have officially agreed to create a brand-new town council for Margate. Currently, it’s the only town in Thanet without one.

The new council will launch on 1 April 2027. The first elections will happen on 6 May 2027, to elect 19 town councillors across seven wards.

Walpole Bay Tidal Pool
The Walpole Bay Tidal Pool will be temporarily closed between 4am and 6pm on Monday 20 July 2026. The pool will be drained for an essential safety inspection.

Join National Rail’s Days Out Guide
Are you looking for a little extra help to boost visitor numbers this summer? You might consider hopping on board with National Rail’s ‘Days Out Guide’ campaign.

By offering a 2FOR1 discount to customers who travel by train, you receive a free dedicated listing on their website, plus the chance to be featured in their e-newsletters, social media, and on participating train company sites.

Southeastern is actively championing Kent and this campaign is a fantastic way to put your business in front of new visitors who are already planning their day out. To find out more and how to take part, click here

Support Our Local Heritage: Cast Your Vote!
Congratulations to Margate’s Shell Grotto, named in the Seaside Heritage Network’s 2026 ‘Bucket and Spade’ list.

It’s in great company, alongside the likes of the Tinside Lido and Herne Bay Pier.

Let’s help it secure the top spot. Cast your vote via the Seaside Heritage Network website before Tuesday 1 September deadline.

Brewer of the Year 2026
A huge well done to Eddie Gadd, founder and head brewer of Gadds’ The Ramsgate Brewery, who has been named Brewer of the Year 2026 by the All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group. This accolade celebrates Eddie’s commitment to independent cask ale, regional heritage, and local agriculture. It is a brilliant achievement.

Kent Press and Broadcast Awards
Congratulations to Brightside Publishing (the team behind the Margate Mercury, Broadstairs Beacon, and Ramsgate Recorder) who won ‘Kent Magazine of the Year’ at the Kent Press and Broadcast Awards on Friday 3 July. Congratulations also to Isle of Thanet News recognised as a finalist for ‘Kent News Website of the Year’.

The Bookseller Rising Stars 
Congratulations to Nicci Rosengarten, owner of Broadstairs’ Happy Reading Children’s Bookshop, named one of The Bookseller Rising Stars Class of 2026. The annual list highlights emerging leaders in the book trade across the British Isles.