Blackpool rose to prominence as a major centre of tourism during the 19th century, particularly for the inhabitants of northern mill towns.

Blackpool is heavily dependent on tourism. In what is often regarded as its heyday (1900-1950), Blackpool thrived as the factory workers of northern England took their annual holidays there en masse.

Blackpool Dance Festival is a world famous annual ballroom dance competition of international significance:

Blackpool Illuminations consisting of a series of lighted displays and collages arranged along the entire length of the sea front (11 km/7 miles), attract many visitors in September and October at a time when some resorts' holiday seasons have already ended.

Blackpool Tower, opened in 1894 and has been a dominant landmark of the Blackpool skyline for well over a century. Inspired by the Eiffel Tower of Paris, France. It is 158 m (518 ft 9 in) tall.

Alderman William George Bean founded Pleasure Beach, Blackpool in 1896 and bought the forty two acre site on which the Pleasure Beach now stands. He wanted an American Style Amusement Park, the fundamental principle of which is to make adults feel like children again.