Visitors to Scarborough are cancelling plans due to mistaken reports that the Central Tramway is closed, following confusion with the town's separate Spa Cliff Lift.
Holidaymakers and elderly visitors are altering their travel plans to Scarborough's seafront following mistaken reports of a funicular railway closure.
The Central Tramway remains fully open for business, but the historic elevator service is experiencing a negative impact on trade due to online confusion. The misunderstanding stems from news regarding the town's separate Spa Cliff Lift, which the public is mistakenly associating with the Central Tramway.
General Manager Colin Powell confirmed the situation is causing unnecessary disruption for visitors who rely on the transport to navigate the steep coastal inclines. Many tourists from outside the immediate area remain unaware that Scarborough operates multiple cliff lifts, leading to direct assumptions that the central service has ceased operations:
"That really isn't helping matters. And if you add to the fact that we have always had more customers just based on our location in town. A lot of people that are outside of Scarborough don't understand that there is another spa, there is the Spa Cliff Lift. So when they read stories saying the Cliff Lift Lift is shut, they just automatically think it's Central tramway that's shut. Since August, I have been receiving countless emails, phone calls, even people coming into the station saying, "Oh, we didn't think you were open because it's saying that you're shut, in certain outlets and we haven't brought how our parents or we haven't brought so and so or our friends aren't coming because they can't tackle the hills."
Digital platforms and rapid online sharing are exacerbating the problem for the local transport business. Unverified claims about the closure have spread quickly across various networks, reaching a wide audience and establishing a false narrative about the tramway's operational status.
While the Central Tramway does carry out routine maintenance during the quieter months, the team ensures the service continues to operate for the benefit of the local economy. The business prioritises weekend openings even during off-season maintenance periods.
Addressing the speed at which the confusion has spread, Mr Powell added:
"So when you're in the media environment, a lot of the time you get you can get your news out much quicker and to a much wider audience by using social media. Especially paper form. It can be released long before the printed form, but that spreads and obviously that goes much further, much quicker, and with the shares, a lot of people are getting misinformation a lot quicker. Each year, we do have a small shutdown period. We always try and open weekends and the shutdown period we we do our of season, just purely to maintain the track and and make sure that we can continue to run throughout the the year the years going."
The Central Tramway team hopes to reassure potential visitors that the carriages are ready to transport passengers between the town and the beach, ensuring everyone can continue to enjoy the Scarborough coastline without facing a difficult climb.
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