ARE seaside towns putting off the punters with tacky gift shops, boozy revellers and chips with everything?

A national tourism boss has slammed resorts in Britain for pandering to the partygoers, and is calling for fewer chips and more ciabattas.

Alan Woods, from the clean beach campaigners, Blue Flag, claims seaside towns are becoming no-go areas for families and ordinary visitors.

Resorts at night can resemble "war zones", he said, with hordes of drunken revellers leaving streets strewn with rubbish and vomit.

He urged seaside towns to swap tacky gift shops for continental markets and to open art galleries and museums at night instead of just pubs and clubs.

But local tourism chiefs say the downmarket image of the seedy seaside town is "just not Bournemouth".

Beverley Ware, from Bournemouth tourism, said: "It may be true of somewhere like Blackpool, but I don't think his comments describe here at all.

"The town has a vibrant, cosmopolitan feel, but we still have a good mix of retired people, families and couples, as well as young people."

There may be a few pockets of trouble on Friday and Saturday nights but no more than any other town, she said.

And despite a few attempts, Beverley still hasn't managed to find a tacky gift shop in Bournemouth yet.

"But we've already got continental markets and farmers' markets and there's going to be a German Christmas market running through the whole of December," she said.

And just a stone's throw from the town centre, there's plenty of choice for diners who want more than chips on their plate, from Mexican restaurants to sushi bars.

Even kangaroo fritters are on offer if you can bear the thought of eating Skippy.

Katerina Karimi, from Italian restaurant Cuccini's, said: "There's a huge amount of variety on Old Christchurch Road. In just a few yards, you have Greek, Thai, Italian, Japanese, Indian and Chinese restaurants. I think Bournemouth is very cosmopolitan already."

And up the road in Charminster, Elias Hanna, from the Lebanese restaurant Retro, dismissed the idea that Bournemouth was all burgers and chips.

"People come from miles around to eat in Charminster.

"As well as the only Lebanese restaurant in Bournemouth, we have Spanish, Italian, Thai and Middle Eastern restaurants."

Visiting the town for the Conservative Party conference, Margery Willcox, from Malvern, thought Bournemouth still had the right mix: "I've been coming to Bournemouth since I was a child, and only come to conference when it's held here. I never go to Blackpool."

But fellow conference-goer Mary Crowley, from Burton, thought the town did have some problems with late night drinkers: "I've always liked Bournemouth but I do think there's an element of truth in it. Binge drinking is caused by these new types of clubs and late drinking pubs."

First published: October 5