UK Tourism/Pros & Cons of hot weather

[Bristawl Si]

I hope this forecast is correct, just think what it will do for the tourism.

V little i suspect - most people would've booked their holidays for June - August, whether their Brits planning to stay in the UK or people coming from abroad to the UK.

Here's a list - slightly tongue in cheek, before the NW hoardes 'shout' me down!:lol:

Positives/assisted by the heat

Ice Cream sellers/manufacturers

Pubs/Beer/drink sellers

Supermarkets and sellers of barby food

Beaches

Negatives/adversely affected by heat

Water shortages

Work absenteeism, as people skive off for some extra days in the sun

Lack of sleep

Old people suffer in extreme heat

Pregnant women

Clogged up roads as the human herds head to the beach for the weekend

Indoor entertainment centres, as people want to stay outside

Even hotter than normal on The Tube

Umbrella manufacturers

Forest/heathland fires

Build up of smog and pollution

Asthmatics

Edited May 17, 2011 by Bristle boy

[Paul]

Not sure about that re tourism - bearing in mind British, homegrown tourism is as much about day trips and weekends away as it is about main, week off work type holidays.

[Bristawl Si]

Not sure about that re tourism - bearing in mind British, homegrown tourism is as much about day trips and weekends away as it is about main, week off work type holidays.

Agreed!

Look at points 6, 7 and 2 on my list of negatives.

[rob48]

I hope this forecast is correct, just think what it will do for the tourism.

What?

Do you genuinely believe foreign tourists come to this country for our weather?

[Paul]

What?

Do you genuinely believe foreign tourists come to this country for our weather?

Potentially yes they do, and they spend more when the weather is good too! But the main point is British based tourism, days out etc etc.

[feb1991blizzard]

Potentially yes they do, and they spend more when the weather is good too! But the main point is British based tourism, days out etc etc.

But why would they come to Britain 'Just for the weather' when clearly there are other options with a far higher percentage chance of having hot temps and unbroken sunshine than Britain does even in July or August.Infact the reason a lot of Brits go abroad is because if they stay here it can be very 50 / 50 ish even in summer.

Edited May 17, 2011 by feb1991blizzard

[Paul]

They may not come 'just' for the weather, but will take weather into account when deciding on whether or not to come here, and what to do once here.

[Thundery wintry showers]

I don't think many tourists come to Britain for the weather but I'm sure a lot of them come in the hope that the weather will be conducive to outdoor activities, and traditionally the pattern in GP's forecast is about as good as it gets for outdoor activities, particularly in central and northern regions where it rarely gets excessively hot and the default summer pattern of Azores ridge to the south and lows to the north often brings a lot of coolness, cloud and wind.

[rob48]

Potentially yes they do, and they spend more when the weather is good too! But the main point is British based tourism, days out etc etc.

Really?

From where would these people depart in order to enjoy our weather so much?

[Paul]

Really?

From where would these people depart in order to enjoy our weather so much?

I'm not suggesting people come solely for the weather, they come for other reasons but may for instance think twice if the weather is awful, or maybe cut short trips for the same reason. They may also decide to travel further around the country and visit more attractions when the weather is good etc.

You can find a load of stats about visits to the UK here:

http://www.visitbrit...acts/index.aspx

But as I've already said, the main crux in terms of weather and tourism is Brits taking days out, short breaks, going to local attractions and so on.

[rob48]

They may not come 'just' for the weather, but will take weather into account when deciding on whether or not to come here, and what to do once here.

Most foreign tourists I encounter are either doing the historical/heritage thing:

ie castles, stately homes, old towns (eg Stratford) plus perhaps, theme parks

OR

the landscapes/scenery/activity attractions:

Peak district, Lake District, Cotswolds, Yorks Moors, Scottish highlands, Snowdonia.

Those visiting the castles & stately homes are unlikely to be affected by the weather at all.

Those doing the great outdoors are going to be pretty impervious to it becasue they'll have the appropriate gear and view it as all part of the experience.

In either case I don't think the weather would make one iota of difference to their actions once they'd decided to come here and do something and I'd bet that only those visiting the higher peaks or planning very long walks or cycle rides would bother with the forecast anyway.

Edit.

Just saw your latest post.

We'll just have to agree to differ.

Edited May 17, 2011 by rob48

[Paul]

Well statistics don't tend to bear that out, taking a quick example - 2007 saw a dip in both overseas visitors and spending, some of which was blamed on the exchange rates, but another cause was considered to be the poor summer

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/bad-weather-and-strong-pound-hit-tourism-397163.html

[Bottesford]

The weather makes a massive difference to how much money the tourist industry takes irrespective of whether the total numbers of visitors remains constant - which of course it wouldn't.

Take my colleague who went on holiday with his newborn son a couple of years ago to Cornwall. It rained all the time so they couldn't go anywhere (taking the young baby out in pouring rain was neither fun nor practical).

They left the holiday early and hardly spent any money except on a few meals & the hotel bill. Local economy looses out.

If the weather had been good they'd have spent plenty on entertainments, museums and so forth. Do they want to go back to Cornwall? Not really. Tourist economy suffers.

Same goes for a holiday in Cornwall I had in July 2008 when it rained everyday sometimes all day none stop. Horrible. It was so bad sometimes we didn't go out and instead got some beers in from a supermarket. Again little money spent in the local economy due to the poor weather.

The random trips we Brits made are obviously affected by the weather in any given weekend etc. A dry & sunny weekend is bound to involve more money being spent than a wet one where people do their DIY and watch a DVD.

Pubs no doubt do well from good weather - especially those with decent beer gardens.

[Thundery wintry showers]

I don't know Rob48's location but I can assure you that in northern England the summer weather makes a big difference to tourism. A typical westerly spell will have chilly winds, extensive cloud cover, sporadic light rain and maxima of 18-20C, while an anticyclonic/southerly type will typically bring sunshine, light winds and temperatures of 25C. The equation is less stark further south but even in the south a summer like 2007 has impacts as the statistics for tourism suggest.

We also have to bear in mind the effects that sunshine have on moods. While there are a minority who have problems with sunshine, the majority of the population are positively affected by high sunshine amounts, and again, this is especially true in relatively cloudy areas of the UK, which in summer tend to be the north. Bristle boy mentioned people skiving off work to enjoy the sunshine, but the counterargument to that is many people being depressed and working less productively as a result when it's cloudy. As I mentioned earlier, anticyclonic/southerly months feature prominently in Britain's sunniest months of the instrumental era- I don't see the forecast pattern as likely to produce much in the way of warm and dry but relatively cloudy weather like we had in late August 2008.

[rob48]

Well statistics don't tend to bear that out, taking a quick example - 2007 saw a dip in both overseas visitors and spending, some of which was blamed on the exchange rates, but another cause was considered to be the poor summer

http://www.independe...ism-397163.html

I don't think that's conclusive either way.

American tourists reported slightly down could be attributed solely to stronger pound and them going elsewhere.

It goes on to say that it flat-lined from January to September against 2006 which was a much better summer (if you like hot sunny weather).

[rob48]

I don't know Rob48's location but I can assure you that in northern England the summer weather makes a big difference to tourism. A typical westerly spell will have chilly winds, extensive cloud cover, sporadic light rain and maxima of 18-20C, while an anticyclonic/southerly type will typically bring sunshine, light winds and temperatures of 25C. The equation is less stark further south but even in the south a summer like 2007 has impacts as the statistics for tourism suggest.

Hi mate.

I'm in Staffordahire but I enjoy spending time in Scotland and the Lake District.

In these locations I expect "mixed" weather and go prepared for it.

Everyone else there seems to be pretty much the same and just gets on with it.

The Lakes wouldn't be the same without the rain on the fells and walking can be uncomfortable in heat & especially humidity

[rob48]

The weather makes a massive difference to how much money the tourist industry takes irrespective of whether the total numbers of visitors remains constant - which of course it wouldn't.

Take my colleague who went on holiday with his newborn son a couple of years ago to Cornwall. It rained all the time so they couldn't go anywhere (taking the young baby out in pouring rain was neither fun nor practical).

They left the holiday early and hardly spent any money except on a few meals & the hotel bill. Local economy looses out.

If the weather had been good they'd have spent plenty on entertainments, museums and so forth. Do they want to go back to Cornwall? Not really. Tourist economy suffers.

Same goes for a holiday in Cornwall I had in July 2008 when it rained everyday sometimes all day none stop. Horrible. It was so bad sometimes we didn't go out and instead got some beers in from a supermarket. Again little money spent in the local economy due to the poor weather.

The random trips we Brits made are obviously affected by the weather in any given weekend etc. A dry & sunny weekend is bound to involve more money being spent than a wet one where people do their DIY and watch a DVD.

Pubs no doubt do well from good weather - especially those with decent beer gardens.

I thought people did that when the weather was too bad to go on the beach or for walks.

[Paul]

We're digressing a touch here and perhaps this needs it's own topic, but have a look across the net, the are loads of papers, research docs, articles and statistics which link weather to tourism, both at attractions, coming into the UK, leaving the UK and so on.

[Bottesford]

I thought people did that when the weather was too bad to go on the beach or for walks.

Fairgrounds, theme parks, open air museums.... or maybe other activities like quad biking, abseiling, climbing - or just heading a country pub known for it's views and lovely beer garden.

All much better when the weather is fine.

Cinemas & indoor museums probably benefit somewhat in wetter conditions but then it depends on their location.

[Kentish Kiwi]

I can't believe some people are arguing that hot, sunny weather doesn't have a positive impact on British tourism and as a result local economies... (if that is what people are actually arguing, I may have miss-interpreted what is being said)

[rob48]

Bottesford, on 17 May 2011 - 22:52 , said:

No one went into panic on here during December when the severe cold was making a massive impact on the fragile UK economy, only just out of recession. And the damage went on as soon as the cold hit - unlike drought which may hit potentially a few months down the line if thing don't change in the mean time. So why the panic?

It had a minor impact on footfall in shopping centres which was largely off-set by increased online commerce. The major effect was short-term travel issues.

"May hit potentially"

There'll be no potential about it if root crops fail by the thousands of acres.

You mention the fragile economy.

What effect do you think escalating food prices will have on that?

Do you actually remember 1976?

[Bottesford]

It had a minor impact on footfall in shopping centres which was largely off-set by increased online commerce. The major effect was short-term travel issues.

"May hit potentially"

There'll be no potential about it if root crops fail by the thousands of acres.

You mention the fragile economy.

What effect do you think escalating food prices will have on that?

Do you actually remember 1976?

Are you suggesting the only impact was short term travel issues?! What happens when transport infrastructure is cut? A whole lot more than a few people can't jet off to the Bahamas that's what! What about all those companies who's workers couldn't/wouldn't make it into work? The cost of that is huge to the economy. Take a look at this article for in ref to the previous winter- http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8569822.stm

Retail did suffer a lot in December with some retailers reporting one of their worst Christmas periods ever. Restaurants suffered too with xmas parties canceled or poorly attended due to poor weather.

And think of all those tourist pounds lost as so many people couldn't even make it to the UK...

The psychological impact was bad too - people really don't like not making it home to their families at Christmas. A whole lot more than they mind it getting dusty in summer...

But that's not to belittle the effects of a sustained drought which of course wouldn't be great for farming or some parts of the economy. But in context it is certainly no worse than a cold/snowy winter and I'd say much far worse in fact.

[rob48]

Are you suggesting the only impact was short term travel issues?! What happens when transport infrastructure is cut? A whole lot more than a few people can't jet off to the Bahamas that's what! What about all those companies who's workers couldn't/wouldn't make it into work? The cost of that is huge to the economy. Take a look at this article for in ref to the previous winter- http://news.bbc.co.u...ess/8569822.stm

Retail did suffer a lot in December with some retailers reporting one of their worst Christmas periods ever. Restaurants suffered too with xmas parties canceled or poorly attended due to poor weather.

And think of all those tourist pounds lost as so many people couldn't even make it to the UK...

The psychological impact was bad too - people really don't like not making it home to their families at Christmas. A whole lot more than they mind it getting dusty in summer...

But that's not to belittle the effects of a sustained drought which of course wouldn't be great for farming or some parts of the economy. But in context it is certainly no worse than a cold/snowy winter and I'd say much far worse in fact.

What you've outline there are "short-term travel issues", quickly resolved.

The effects of the snow and ice was one month in three, during which many businesses are now closed for about 1/3 of it.

Seemed to recover rather quickly anyway:

http://www.guardian....-to-record-high

Then when people could get to the shops they spent their money:

http://www.bbc.co.uk...siness-12504477

There's only so much to go around, irrespective of when, or what the weather's doing, when it's spent.

Edited May 18, 2011 by rob48

[Kentish Kiwi]

What you've outline there are "short-term travel issues", quickly resolved.

The effects of the snow and ice was one month in three, during which many businesses are now closed for about 1/3 of it.

Seemed to recover rather quickly anyway:

http://www.guardian....-to-record-high

Then when people could get to the shops they spent their money:

http://www.bbc.co.uk...siness-12504477

There's only so much to go around, irrespective of when, or what the weather's doing, when it's spent.

It's not really that surprising is it... The snow that prevented many from purchasing during December just meant the spending was put off and instead concentrated unusually in January. I always find those headlines that state how the UK has lost X amount of money due to a particular snow event or cold spell a little misleading in that regard.

[rob48]

It's not really that surprising is it... The snow that prevented many from purchasing during December just meant the spending was put off and instead concentrated unusually in January. I always find those headlines that state how the UK has lost X amount of money due to a particular snow event or cold spell a little misleading in that regard.

Agreed it's not.

Which is precisely why I replied to the previous post as I did.