The number of people with malignant melanoma – the most serious form – has rocketed by a massive 63 per cent in the past decade.
Ten years ago there were an average of 125 cases diagnosed, but last year 204 were reported, according to the Portsmouth NHS Hospitals Trust.
Doctors saw a total of 2,194 skin cancer cases last year, but fear the real figure could be far higher as many go undiagnosed.
Experts say those who sunbathed without protecting themselves from harmful ultraviolet rays decades ago are now discovering they have skin cancer.
The rise is being blamed on our coastal location, the popularity of sunbeds as well as the high number of armed forces personnel living in the area who have travelled abroad.
Dr Stephen Keoghane, dermatology consultant at Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust, who is also chairman of the South Central Cancer Network's skin cancer group, said: 'The demography in Portsmouth and south-east Hampshire is unusual in that we have a higher than average percentage of the population who have worked outside or have served in the armed forces.
'There is increasing evidence around coastal areas that there are more harmful UV rays filtering through than in inland areas.
'The beach is easily accessible here so people spend more time there and foreign travel is certainly a factor in the increased incidence.
'We're extremely concerned about the increase in the use of sunbeds. There is increasing evidence that they are causative in the development of melanoma and a lot of tanning parlours are unlicensed and unmanned.'
If caught early enough, malignant melanomas can be treated.
But if they are not detected until its later stages, it can spread to other parts of the body and prove fatal.
Dr Keoghane said: 'If melanoma is caught early, it's an eminently curable disease. However, if it's not caught until its later stages there is no effective treatment whatsoever.
'It's absolutely crucial that people are properly educated about the dangers.'
Skin cancer nurse specialist Carol Coley said parents needed to protect their skin just a much as they do their children.
'Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the UK,' she said.
'Rates are expected to double every 20 years and will increase over the next five years due to an increase in the ageing population and lifestyle changes – more people are taking foreign holidays than ever before and we are going away for longer.
'A lot of parents use factor 50 on their children but only use factor eight or 10 on themselves.
'They need to use the same high factor for their whole family – they need to be around to look after their children.'