PRESS RELEASE
Weather Fails to Dampen Tourism Demand
Although earlier forecasts by the MET office for a barbecue summer may have failed to meet expectations, the overcast skies and occasional downpours have failed to dampen demand for Suffolk as a holiday destination, according to members of Choose Suffolk Tourism Partnership.
While the MET office had predicted that the UK was on track for a summer of above average temperatures earlier in the year, its revised long-term weather forecast, issued at the end of July, said holidaymakers should expect rainy conditions instead. This revised forecast led some commentators to forecast a flood in demand for late bookings to countries in Europe, having a knock-on effect to the UK’s ‘staycation’ choice of holiday.
Alex Paul, Tourism Manager at Choose Suffolk, commented, “When talking to our members across the county, we have been very pleased to hear that the lacklustre summer has failed to have a negative impact on their bookings and visitor numbers.” He continued, “We’re actually finding that many members’ bookings are up compared to this time last year.”
Tim Rowan-Robinson, Managing Director at Thorpeness & Aldeburgh Hotels Ltd, said that, despite the vagaries of the British summer, the hotel group was enjoying a very positive period for bookings. “We have actually witnessed an increase in demand this year, which is a very encouraging sign. We had a fantastically good period from May through to July, and August is also looking good for us as well.” He added, “The first quarter of the year has been well up on last year. We are finding that bookings are coming in much later, but they are still coming and that’s the most important thing. We’re also seeing a lot of strong, late demand for staying an extra night.”
Bookings in the self-catering and holiday cottage sector have also proved resilient, given the summer’s failure to live up to expectations. Naomi Tarry, Managing Director of Best of Suffolk, a company with holiday cottages and accommodation in the county’s coastal towns and rural locations, said, “Our holiday cottage bookings are more than double that of last year, which I hope will also be good news for the Suffolk businesses that our guests visit whilst they’re here.”
The company is also finding there is strong demand from people who have never visited the county before. “An important contributor to our rapid growth is that we are reaching people who are coming to Suffolk for the first time and, the good news is that, they are telling us they have enjoyed it and plan to come back again.”
Choose Suffolk said that the current value of tourism to Suffolk is £1.6bn per year and sustains 30,000 jobs across the county. Alex Paul said, “Since the new Choose Suffolk spring and summer tourism campaigns in March this year, starting with our campaign on London Underground, the Visit Suffolk website has received over 35,000 new visitors and over a quarter of a million page views.” He continued, “Choose Suffolk is working very hard with its various partners to achieve a target of £1.8bn by 2010, and these comments from our members demonstrate that we are making real progress in achieving this ambition.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors: Choose Suffolk is the trading name of the Suffolk Development Agency For further information, please contact
Richard Ginger, PR Manager
Tel: 0844 980 8504
richard@choosesuffolk.com
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