Observer column 1 October 2026

Cllr Julia Hilton, deputy leader of Hastings Borough Council and lead councillor for shaping place, regeneration and community wealth building 

As a seaside town, tourism plays a vital role in Hastings’ economy. It generates significant visitor expenditure, supports local employment and contributes to the town’s wider economic growth.  

In 2024 there were 4.6m trips to Hastings with a value of £394m, supporting more than 8,100 jobs. £93.6m was estimated to be spent on holidays, with an average stay of 3.4 nights. There were almost four-million day visitors at a value of £147m. 

With this in mind, we have been focused on improving opportunities for our tourism businesses. 

We recently launched the Visit Hastings website to promote the town, its attractions, businesses and events. We have also rejoined 1066 Country Marketing and are working closely with Experience Sussex, the Local Visitor Economy Partnership and cross-Channel initiatives with France. The website is attracting around 600 visitors a week, more than half of this coming on mobile devices. The most visited pages are What’s On, the events listings, and Things to do which suggests activities and attractions in Hastings. 

Work this summer has focused on delivering the Norman Heritage Programme as part of the Bayeux Tapestry exhibition at the British Museum and the Year of the Normans. Alongside the Hastings Embroidery exhibition, there are many other events and activities. 

These will continue throughout the autumn and will include digital projections and immersive experiences being delivered in partnership with East Sussex College Group, together with a range of community, cultural and educational events linked to the Year of the Normans celebrations. 

The Norman Heritage Seed Fund provided funding for activities and events with a Norman theme, including Bayeux Doodle as part of Bottle Alley Art Market, a Bayeux Tapestry Family Day at Hastings Contemporary over October half term, creative workshops, Stitch for Change, a Refugee Buddy Project piece of work, and a discussion at Hastings Book Festival around the continued influence of the Norman Conquest.  

We’ve been lucky to work with partners who have provided funding and wider support to some of these events and activities, so thank you to the Sussex Community Rail Partnership (SCRP), the Community Rail Development Fund (CRDF) and the British Museum, alongside East Sussex College Group. 

Our fantastic Hastings Museum & Art Gallery was chosen as the first venue for the touring exhibition “A British Museum Partnership: Bayeux around Britain casting a masterpiece”. On display until 9 November, this features casts of parts of the Bayeux Tapestry made by artist Charles Alfred Stothard in 1819. HMAG is also one of the venues chosen to showcase the British Museum’s Digital exhibition about the Bayeux Tapestry as a trail of films throughout the museum from 17 October 2026 – 11 July 2027.  

HMAG have also partnered with Paula Ogun Hector, founder and Creative Director of Tapestry of Black Britons CIC, to bring a series of woven artworks depicting African and Caribbean contributions to Britain from Rome onwards to Hastings Museum & Art Gallery. Created in collaboration with artists, schools, and communities around Britain and the diaspora.