MILLIONS of visitors every year can’t be wrong - Southend is a brilliant place to visit and one of the UK’s best seaside resorts.

The city’s seafront traders have hit back after a survey by consumer watchdog Which?

ranked Southend in the bottom five coastal destinations.

Business bosses say Southend has so much to offer, from top beaches to the award-winning attractions and vibrant music scene. And they add that the millions of visitors each year show just how wrong the Which? survey is.

Paul Thompson, 48, owner of Pebbles One Café on the seafront, said: “We have so much to offer here in Southend - it’s one of the driest places in the country, with seven miles of beaches many with Blue Flag awards.

“Adventure Island is awardwinning, and we have the world’s longest pier. There doesn’t seem to be much to criticise Southend for.

“I think the proof is in the pudding, and we had more visitors than ever before to the pier. So many people come each year and they wouldn’t if they agreed with these findings from Which?”

The world-famous pier enjoyed a record-breaking start to 2022 amid high hopes the attraction will have its best-ever year.

More than 24,000 people visited the pier last month, the highest number recorded in January since records began.

That number more than tripled the previous record, and was also double the amount of visitors to the pier in December.

And the ever-popular Adventure Island won an award at the national UK Theme Park Awards 2021, receiving recognition for Best Customer Service.

Simon Patterson, co-owner of Chinnerys nightclub on Marine Parade, added that the live music scene is fantastic in Southend including on the seafront.

The venue boss said: “I think Southend is a nice place to come and we have clean beaches and it’s all good value for money too.

“Millions of visitors come each year and I think that proves we are a big hit. The live music scene is fantastic and thousands of people and great bands come for it.”

According to Which?, the bottom five resorts are Skegness in Lincolnshire, Bognor Regis in West Sussex, Southend, Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, Southend, and Burnham-on-Sea in Somerset.