Newquay...pasties , ice creams, and sandcastles. Or is it more like, stag dos, tacky lifeguard hoodys and strip clubs? I bring this up after reading, quite frankly, an appalling article from the Times Online website titled 'Locals V. Lap Dancers in Newquay Standoff' accusing Newquay of being full of 'Sex tourists' who ' buy a lap dance, like it is a cappuccino'.
Now I find this to be hilarious, as I work in Costa Coffee in Newquay and I am positive people usually opt for a biscotti with their cappa, rather than a lap dance. Am I wrong?
But in all seriousness, it is tourists, including these 'gangs of sex tourists', that keep me, as well as numerous others in Newquay, in a job. They are the lifeblood of the local community! Newquay is a tourist town and has one of the highest floating population rates in the country.
And it is all well and good for local pensioners to claim, 'It is breaking my heart to see what is happening in Newquay' but I think it would break a few more hearts if local businesses collapsed due to a decrease in tourism in the area.
I believe it is a hardened truth of today's society that we need to recognise: Sex sells! Newquay is a 18- 30 holiday destination and local businesses are just meeting the demands of the customers. Times change.
Newquay should celebrate the fact that such a small fishing town can attract so many visitors in the summer months and so what if it's a lap dance or an ice cream that people want. I think we would have a more serious issue on our hands if the strip clubs were to be closed down and fewer tourists visited the area as a result. Businesses would not survive and neither would you or I.
Let me know what you think.
