We're all going on a wet holiday

According to the Mail on Sunday this week, "The rain has made it feel more like winter than summer, but surprisingly, the latest holiday figures show that domestic tourism is up on last year. Figures compiled by three leading leisure organisations show that we have continued to go to seaside resorts and cities despite some of the worst weather on record. Domestic holidays account for 80% of Britain's £85 billion-a-year tourism industry, and figures from The Caravan Club, budget hotel chain Travelodge and Merlin Entertainments which owns Madame Tussauds, Alton Towers and the London Eye, suggest that it has still been a good season, with more than 50 million visitors.

The Caravan Club, which represents more than a million caravanners, says August bookings are up 7%. Catherine Ford, Head of Sites Marketing for the Club says 'Our customers enjoy caravanning in all seasons and tour primarily for history and heritage, not sunshine'. Occupancy at Travelodge's seaside hotels, where the company has invested most heavily, are also up 7%. But cities have been the biggest winners with holidaymakers sick of long queues at airports, deciding to holiday at home".

Source: Mail on Sunday Financial Mail, Sunday 26 August 2007.