Its reputation is entrenched in the quintessential Englishness of Victorian spa towns.

Compare it to its bustling neighbours of Brighton and Hastings and it is obvious Eastbourne appeals to a different kind of holidaymaker.

But with a rise in budget flights and the ease of hopping on the Eurostar, could the town, once the Mecca of the silver-haired coach party, need to rethink its marketing strategy?

Paul James, a chartered accountant who works in the town, thinks so.

A large part of his job involves representing hotel owners keen to turn their properties into private use, usually with a view to selling up and moving on.

Over the past year he has been involved in talks with ten hotel owners, whose businesses are becoming less and less viable as the larger hotels drop their tariffs.

Mr James said: "The problem with Eastbourne is it appeals to the older end of the market.

"Furthermore, the town has geared itself to attracting that sector.

"That was okay in the Seventies and Eighties when the pensioners of those days often had not experienced foreign travel and were quite happy to come to Eastbourne for their holidays.

"Today's pensioners, however, are a generation used to travelling abroad."

Mr James believes the town has hung on to an industry based around coach tours and fears an over supply of rooms could force prices down, impacting heavily on owners.

He said Eastbourne Borough Council had been instrumental in promoting the town's image but now needed to face up to a changing market in order for smaller hotels in particular to survive.

Among them is Roy Compton, originally from Brighton, who bought the Vernon House Hotel in Compton Street, Eastbourne, two years ago for £410,000 plus tax.

He hoped to rejuvenate the building and provide an income for his family but after estimates for repairs rose upwards of £300,000, he realised he could not afford to run it in its present state and applied for permission to change its use.

His application was refused and the imposing building, which lies off the seafront behind the larger hotels, faces an uncertain future.

Mr Compton believes, like Mr James, that small hotels can no longer compete with their larger counterparts.

He said: "I believe the council has taken the decision to stop the rot but stopping hotels getting changes of use isn't going to do that. They need to lose more beds and they need to get the rates up so hotels can make a decent profit."

However, Peter Hawley, who runs the Chatsworth Hotel along the seafront and is chairman of the Eastbourne Hotels Association (EHA) strongly disagrees the town is facing a slump.

He said: "It's nonsense. The hotel industry is having a first-class summer.

"We have had more investments than ever before. We are very much in a forward position."

Mr Hawley said plans to change a handful of hotels should not be used to judge the rest of the industry.

A spokesman for Eastbourne Borough Council said: "Eastbourne is a thriving tourist resort, which attracts upwards of 600,000 people for the four-day Airbourne weekend alone.

"There is no doubt competition exists within the tourism industry.

"However, Eastbourne as a resort compares excellently with its competitors, regularly being distinguished through national awards.

"Part of Eastbourne's appeal is the quality of accommodation which can be found along the length of the seafront and within a stone's throw from it."

The town has much in common with nearby Worthing. Both face the same battles to attract holidaymakers.

Kim Long, tourism development officer for Worthing Borough Council, believes it is important to maintain the unique quaint characters of the two resorts.

She said: "We fight every residential change of use application that comes into the council from town centre hotels.

"We fight them because we can fill them up."

Roger Marlowe, chairman of the Brighton and Hove Hotels Association, agreed.

He said: "We would fight against them but on the whole there aren't any.

"If you allow it to happen in Eastbourne, you will be losing a great resource."

Mr Marlowe said many smaller businesses in Brighton had reinvented themselves as boutique hotels, offering a more lavish and personal service than many of their larger competitors.

It may be a way forward for smaller hotel owners in Eastbourne but for Mr James the trade would not see any great improvements until it was given a shake-up.

He said: "With the arrival of the new head of tourism development, Keith Morrison, at the council, I detect there has been a change of emphasis that I believe will be for the better.

"It would appear there is an intention to give Eastbourne a broader appeal, which must be welcomed.

"I think it is up to Mr Morrison to explain his intentions in this respect.

"To succeed in the future, Eastbourne will need to be a place that appeals to visitors sufficiently that they are prepared to come and spend money and time in the town.

"We need much better quality hotel accommodation, probably less of it, but other facilities such as good restaurants, seafront facilities and events that make the town a place people want to stay in.

"At the moment the most popular visitor attraction is the Arndale Centre and that speaks for itself.

"All this will take time but, unless the nettle is grasped, Eastbourne will continue its decline as a decaying seaside town of empty hotel rooms decorated with woodchip and emulsion."