That's part of it, but it's also that the opportunities that the seaside towns like these once had are just blatantly never coming back. These were probably hot spots back when traveling by air wasn't all that affordable so some cold English beach/pier was good enough for families closer to the beginning of the 1900s than the end, but now flights are extremely cheap (especially in/around Europe), so why spend money on a town like this when you could fly to a nice beach in a warmer climate (Spain, Portugal, etc...) and not spend
that much more money? A quick google search shows flights from London to Spain in the middle of June for around £50.
I'm sure this place is a
little bit more exciting in the middle of summer, but its still a town that probably built itself up around one specific industry that isn't going to be coming back any time soon.
As a Houstonian, it reminds me a lot of Galveston in that
the glory days are long gone and the town does its best to attract tourists, but...
its still Galveston and Cancun, Cozumel, and the Caribbean aren't too far away.