ANYONE who visited Whitby or Scarborough at the weekend might be forgiven for asking: "Crisis? What crisis?" Coastal route traffic jams and packed beaches might suggest that talk of Britain's seaside decline is exaggerated.

Sadly, however, the decline is all too real. Crowds on a sunny Saturday do not tell the true story. Our resorts are among the most economically deprived areas in the country. They are unemployment blackspots, even being placed on a par with former mining regions by Culture Secretary Chris Smith.

The reasons are self-evident. Seaside towns were among the first areas to be buffeted by the chill winds of globalisation. They have also been the slowest to react. The rot set in with the advent of cheap air travel. Families once flocked in their thousands to the nearest beaches for factory fortnight. Now they jet off to Spain or Florida. A foreign holiday often proves cheaper than staying at home, and good weather is guaranteed.

That trend is exacerbated by current conditions. Britain is enduring another lousy summer, and the high pound means foreign travel is better value than ever.

The result: hardly any families take a two-week holiday in Scarborough and its equivalents. These towns are day-trip destinations. Families may buy a fish-and-chip lunch and put some coins into the slot machines, but they do not spend much.

Mr Smith is so worried about the problem that he is despatching his "tourism tsar" to visit Britain's resorts and come back with a rescue package.

The seaside's main hope is to diversify. Resorts cannot hope to woo back holidaymakers from abroad, but they can invest more money in conference halls and related business facilities.

But they need the Government to help, particularly with investment in infrastructure. If some of those billions put aside for transport were spent on dualling the A64 to Scarborough the resort would be a more attractive destination to both tourist and business executive alike.