Whitby Shops and Information about the town of Whitby

Added: (Wed Feb 08 2012)

Pressbox (Press Release) - After the tills have been jingling in the shops of Whitby Town over the Christmas period, its time to think about the New Year. After the jingling in the tills at Christmas time, the shops in Whitby are thinking about what the New Year will bring. What will it bring by way of tourism, will the economic situation in this country and the rest of Europe make a difference to the spending power of the local population and the expectant tourist sector? Will the economic situation in this country and the rest of Europe impact on the spending power of the local population and the expected influx of tourists.

This is, indeed a question on the mind of most of the owners of Whitby Shops in this historic town. Year upon year as the seasons pass, there does, in fact, seem to be an increase in the variety and style of shops opening their doors for business. As Whitby is considered by many as a seaside holiday resort, there are a number of tourist shops as would normally be expected when the town heavily relies on tourism for its economic survival. The majority of these 'touristy' shops are situated around the harbour area on both sides of the River. The River Esk divides the town into the West Side and the East Side with the main route linking the two being the Old Whitby Swing Bridge. In the years gone by, the harbour was instrumental in the economy of the town by way of fishing, whaling and boatbuilding. Over the last century or so this has been gradually eroded away. Yes, there is still boat building at the shipyard but it is now only one company, although business is brisk, the orders are mainly from Scotland and other areas of the country as the fishing industry in Whitby UK has all but finished. Whaling ceased many years ago!!


The tourist shops fill a vital role in both the sale of souvenirs, the sweets and the ice-cream department. Visitors love to browse the stores in search of a memento of their stay or perhaps to pick up a little 'bargain' to take home or even to purchase something directly connected with the town, for instance Whitby Jet. The jet mined from the local seams along the North East Coast, was made famous by Queen Victoria whilst in mourning for her beloved Prince Albert. Now fashioned in both silver and gold jewellery, the modern day settings are far renowned throughout the country.

The rest of the retailers situated around the town, are, to a large extent, dependent on the local population to sustain their businesses. Many of the older generation of Whitby folk have shopped for years in their hometown and rarely venture further afield. The younger generation, however, think nothing of travelling for twenty or thirty miles to do their weekly shopping or to buy other commodities i.e clothing and furniture. Visitors, throughout the year, are also supplementing the income for these business by the sale of newspapers and magazines, also the visitors in self serviced accommodation purchase food from the local supermarkets and other independent retailers such as fruiterers and bakers.