19 January 2012 Last updated at 10:35 ET

Skegness name change suggested by tourism expert

The traditional British resort had mass appeal, East Lindsey District Council said

Skegness should change its name to boost its image, a tourism expert has said.

David Harper, from Leisure Property Services, said the town suffered from a bad reputation as a low quality resort.

Mr Harper said it needed to be re-branded to attract a wealthier market and changing its name would be a cost effective way of reinventing the town.

East Lindsey District Council dismissed the idea and said the traditional British resort had mass appeal.

Councillor Adam Grist said: "The suggestion that changing the name would solve all the problems in one fell swoop is a ridiculous suggestion.

"Hundreds and thousands of people visit Skegness every summer because of the idea that it is a traditional British resort and everything that offers," he said.

"What we've tried to do as a council over the last few years is to encourage Skegness to evolve whilst retaining the traditional offer."

'Grottier resorts'

Nigel Tett, from the Skegness, East Coast and Wolds Hospitality Association, agreed with Mr Grist and said he thought the idea of a name change was "absolutely crazy".

"Skegness is one of the most recognised names within this country and that is borne out by Visit England who say Skegness and Lincoln are two of the main attractors within this part of the world."

Mr Harper, who values and sells hotels across the country, admitted that Skegness was a very famous name but he said it came with baggage.

"Most of the people I speak to, who don't know Skegness think it's one of the grottier resorts in the country," he said.

"They have a perception of it being all caravans and slot machines. They have no clue that it has one of the best beaches there in the whole of the UK.

"If you weren't to drop the name you would have an awful lot of work to do to change some people's perceptions of the town."

He said the name change would have to be part of a complete re-marketing campaign.