A rich heritage, spectacular countryside and vibrant cities... Britain seems well placed for a tourism bonanza. But will the weather, traffic jams and hotel rip-offs spoil the summer party? A range of experts—from travel entrepreneurs to a Met Office forecaster—offer their opinions

Jim Forward
Managing director, Warner Leisure Hotels
The economic climate represents a real opportunity for British tourism, claims Jim Forward, and he intends to capitalise on it. "Unlike many hotels, we're purely a leisure business, so we haven't been affected by the drop-off in business trade and, actually, we're doing well. Bookings are up, but people are thinking very short term and committing far closer to the time that they're going to go away, but we believe we're going to have a very strong summer."

Forward believes that Warner's secret lies in offering not only quality, but also a full holiday experience. "We're not just a room and breakfast," he explains. "And that's what people want, more than ever at the moment. So I definitely think we're going to be picking up business from standard hotels that don't offer this."

With the weak pound drawing in overseas visitors, especially from the eurozone, and Brits hit by the credit crunch choosing to stay in the UK, Forward believes that in more ways than one, this could be a crucial summer.

"Typically for Warner, two-thirds of any guests on any one break are repeat customers, and the figures that we've got coming now suggest that bookings from new customers are up 20 per cent," he says. It goes without saying that impressing new bookings now could pay huge dividends in the future. "We feel we've been given a unique opportunity to show customers what we can do. More than ever before this year we're going to see people holidaying in the UK and we need to convince them it's not a second-best choice. If ever there was a year we needed to step it up, this is it."

While it might be tempting in this climate to try to compromise what you offer in a bid to appeal to a wider clientele, Forward is adamant that this isn't the answer.

"You've got to be clear about what your brand stands for and what you do, and you need to do it well. Who knows how long it's going to take to move through the current economic situation, but the fact is that we will come out of it and when we do, as a business you want to know your integrity's intact. If you flip-flop around trying to be all things to all people, it will take a long time to undo that."

Sandie Dawe
Deputy chief executive, VisitBritain
This could not only be a bumper year for Britain's tourist industry, but anyone who's not taken a UK holiday for a few years could be pleasantly surprised by what they find, argues Sandie Dawe.

"It's certainly got the potential to be a very good year for British tourism, but it's a bit too soon to call," she says. "Consumer research suggested that up to 20 per cent of the people who usually go abroad would consider holidaying in the UK this year, so there's potentially an additional five million people we could be catering for."

While we might think that it's all B&Bs and hotels, Dawe suggests that Britain has a lot to offer beyond this. "Camping and caravanning holidays are looking at a good year and self-catering is also set to do well. You've also got to bear in mind that people will look at taking breaks where they're staying with family or friends—that's still a holiday and they're still going to be going out and spending money and eating out."

Far from seeing the British weather as an obstacle, she maintains that for some holidaymakers it can be a boon. "You've got to remember that not everyone wants 40 degrees—especially if you're travelling with very young kids or older people. We're far more obsessed with the weather than overseas visitors, who accept that Britain isn't a destination that's weather-contingent. They're here for the culture and the heritage."

Dawe also believes that, as a country we're far more geared up to deal with bad weather than some of our Mediterranean counterparts. "Whatever you might like to think about far-flung destinations, there are never any guarantees about the weather. And any family that's ever been stuck in a tiny beach town when it's raining will really appreciate that the UK can offer a huge range of activities, come rain or shine."

She also believes the lack of hassle in staying at home will appeal to families especially. "You're not sitting for hours at airports or worrying about inoculations, security delays and so on. And, as a country we're now in a position to offer the sort of adventurous activities—such as surfing, kite surfing and rock climbing—that you might have thought you had to go abroad for."

It's not just adventure junkies who could be rediscovering the benefits of Britain this summer. "If people haven't had a domestic holiday for years I think they may be surprised by the quality of things such as food, which didn't always have the best reputation. But now it's not just four-star restaurants but the growing slow-food movement, regional produce, gastropubs and farm stay options."

"I remember years ago the then English Tourist Board ran a campaign that had the tagline 'A lot's happened since you've been away' and I think that's probably the message of this year—both to domestic customers and those that might be lured here by the strength of the euro and the dollar."

Nigel Pocklington
Managing director, Hotels.com
With around 99,000 properties worldwide on the Hotels.com site and about 60 million unique monthly users, Nigel Pocklington has a broad base of data from which to draw his forecasts. He says volumes of bookings are still at the same level that they were 12 months ago, but some factors have shifted.

"When it comes to British bookings on the site, we're seeing that Brits are either trading down the number of nights that they stay away, looking into what we call currency tourism—heading for places out of the eurozone such as Turkey or places that have proportionally come down in price such as Dublin or Reykjavik—or choosing to holiday in the UK."

The fact that city breaks are cheaper, even in local currency, than they were a year ago, might explain why the site has seen an increase of around 30 per cent in one-night UK breaks. "London was around 12 per cent cheaper in December 2008 than it was 12 months earlier and that's the story across most UK cities," says Pocklington.

When you factor in the strength of the euro and the dollar, London is about 30 per cent cheaper for, say, a French person than it was a year ago, which explains why more overseas visitors have started to express an interest in a city that used to be in the top three or four of the most expensive places to stay, but which now doesn't even make the top 10.

"In January there was a 77 per cent increase in French customers searching for London hotels," Pocklington points out. "And wherever you're coming from, now is definitely the time to snap up some low-cost luxury. Business hotels, which have always been keen to fill rooms at weekends, have been affected by the cutback in business trade and, as a result, have really cut prices to try to boost occupancy. Smaller, boutique hotels aren't going to suffer in the same way, but at the 40-plus-rooms end of the market you'll definitely get bargains."

Pocklington also believes that over the past few years there have been sweeping changes to the UK tourism industry, which mean that both the quantity and the quality of what's on offer has improved.

"Somewhere like Manchester now has a range of four- and five-star hotels which can really compete in terms of quality, design and amenities, in a way that it just couldn't a decade ago," he says."And, across the board, standards are improving. Part of this is down to the internet. Sites like tripadvisor.com and ours, which encourage customers to review their experiences, mean hotels have had to invest in amenities and service."

In his view, this shows Britain is far better placed to deal with what could be a boom summer for hotels.

"We're looking at more holiday pounds being spent here than ever before," he says. "I'm not saying that the UK tourism industry could single-handedly rescue the UK from the current economic situation, but maybe it's a sector where the prospects aren't quite as black as they are for sectors such as finance and auto."

Paul Lister
Owner of wilderness reserve Alladale
You would think that the owner of a truly "green" holiday destination in the Scottish Highlands would be relishing the prospect of a bumper summer, but Alladale's Paul Lister doesn't think it's that straightforward.

The green lobby would have us believe that ecological, as well as financial, reasons are going to see more Brits holidaying within the UK this summer. And, if they want to pay more than just lip service to the idea, holidaymakers could do worse than head north to Alladale, where pony trekking, guided 4x4 "safaris", mountain biking and hiking are among the activities on offer.

"You can take the train to Inverness, so you don't have to fly," explains Lister. "Everything we do is aimed at restoring the balance of nature in the area and working with the surrounding natural environment and the local community."

To that end, the estate now uses hydroelectric power, while the restaurant serves only the freshest local organic ingredients in season. Despite all these green credentials, bookings are "keeping up with last year but are not miles ahead". Lister is pragmatic about the summer ahead. "I just don't think you're going to see the UK tourism industry booming in the way that people are suggesting. Yes, the very weak pound will draw in overseas visitors and maybe encourage more Brits to stay at home, but I think overall this is going to be counterbalanced by the broader effects of a global recession. There's a whole swathe of people who are just not going to be prioritising their holidays above electricity, housing, food and so on."

While many luxury brands might worry that discounting devalues their product and services, for Lister occupancy is key to weathering the storm.

"I think it's important to stay true to the brand, but I also think that people are looking for promotions and extras. We ran at around 40 per cent occupancy last year which, for the third year of business isn't bad, but I want to see us at around 60 per cent this year and if that means cutting our already competitive rates by 20 per cent, I'll do it."

Sinclair Beecham
Founder, The Hoxton Hotel
After co-founding sandwich chain Pret a Manger, Sinclair Beecham went on to launch London's Hoxton Hotel, a property that aims to give customers high quality and top value, with none of the usual hidden extras.

Beecham thinks that now, more than ever, businesses need to remember their customer. "I'm not going to tell hoteliers what they should do, I've only been in the hotel industry for two years," he says. "Essentially, I'm just a customer who thinks that a hotel should value their customers and treat them with respect."

After being charged "obscene" prices for water, receiving faxes and average breakfasts that he didn't want, Beecham decided to open a hotel with a difference and The Hoxton Hotel concept was born.

"Once upon a time good business was about offering good service, good value and what your customers wanted," he says. "That seems to have changed and now hotels, not just in this country but all over the world, seem intent on irritating their customers. I always thought business should be about looking after your customers rather than ripping them off."

He also rails against the fact that we've become so indoctrinated by the whole thing that our behaviour has actually changed to accommodate the way that hotels treat us, rather than the other way round.

"At The Hoxton we charge just 5p a minute to ring the US, but most guests won't even look at a hotel phone because we're so accustomed to being ripped off beyond all reasonable measure that we've got used to using our mobiles instead."

But Beecham believes the downturn could force more hoteliers to adopt his mindset. "People might put up with this sort of thing in the boom times, but when there's less money around people become more demanding," he says.

He's not persuaded, though, that Brits are going to be staying at home in their droves this summer. "The cost of building a hotel in Spain is cheaper than in the UK, so they can afford to sell off rooms more cheaply. At the lower end of the market, hotels in Benidorm are still probably cheaper than a Travelodge, even when you add in the cost of flights. Unless you go caravanning or camping I'm not really sure how a holiday in the UK can be cheaper."

Tom Marchant
Co-founder of boutique travel company Black Tomato
Business is booming for Black Tomato, but Tom Marchant is just not convinced that Brits will be holidaying at home this year.

"We've been really busy, which has been a bit surprising in some ways, but it's become evident that while we're seeing our fair share of people who have lost their jobs and are looking to escape, those still in employment need something to look forward to and are prepared to forego other areas of spend for that."

What has changed slightly is where they're going. "Customers who are used to going back to the same place every year are looking for somewhere different, a new experience to justify the expense," says Marchant.

And to try to make their money stretch further, punters are prepared to consider destinations that might not have figured on their horizons before. The Black Tomato website features a regularly updated currency map that highlights the destinations offering the most bang for your buck-Britain doesn't feature.

But while from a macro-perspective people are prepared to try something new, from a micro-perspective everything needs to be absolutely right. They need reassurance that they're making the right decisions. Which might explain why a brand such as Black Tomato, which prides itself on insider knowledge, is flourishing.

The company has also seen increased interest in its more adventurous trips this year. "People want experiences that remove them from the day to day," explains Marchant. "Climbing a mountain focuses the mind and stops you dwelling on problems back home in a way that relaxing on the beach just doesn't."

While Marchant believes that the British Isles have much to offer holidaymakers, he thinks that the climate is always going to be a problem. "Most Brits want sunshine and if you're going for a weekend break and it's grey and overcast that's one thing, but there's much more at stake if that's your main summer holiday."

There's also the fact that being anywhere abroad makes it a bit of an adventure. As Marchant says: "If you're stuck in a traffic jam in a town in the middle of rural Spain, there's something a bit romantic about it. But if you're stuck in traffic on the M4, you're just stuck in traffic on the M4."